


Yet Another Evanstan Story

by baconsonus



Category: Gossip Girl, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Stucky - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gossip Girl Fusion, Alternate Universe - Real World, Bromance to Romance, Drama & Romance, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Marvel Universe, Multi, POV Male Character, Sebastian Stan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-01-18 04:30:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 35,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baconsonus/pseuds/baconsonus
Summary: Where Chris Evans is a CEO of a children’s hospital and Sebastian is a photographer from New York who moved to the West Coast in search of a lost spirit animal (among all things else, of course).A story about how a solid friendship having the potential to blossom into something so much more - if only pride, ego and a certain Chace Crawford aren’t allowed to happen.#7: Damn it, Christopher!updated 15.10.18





	1. How I Met My Sergeant

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone. Decided to write another Evanstan story because they’re my OTP forever Set in an alternate-universe. 
> 
> Anyway...Enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A superhero costume, tacky golf shorts and coercing a newcomer to becoming his partner for a child’s birthday party are some of the things Chris Evans will do to make a kid happy.

 

**#1**

 

 

“Captain America.”

She nodded.

“Really?”

Chris stared at the size of the smile on the face of the person standing before his desk for the longest of time. The size of Nebraska, it really was but after what he just heard, he waited for the punch line to arrive like _anytime now._

His horror only doubled to what he was presented with next.

“What do you think? Closest I could find in the stores!”

It was honest to God _hideous_ \- Chris was looking at something of bold blue, red and white. Stripes. Stars. A freaking helmet-mask thing or God knows what it was meant to be. He couldn’t fathom the little pigeon wings at the sides of it.

Basically, he was looking at the flag of United States of America - cut and sewn into something someone could put on and call it a costume.

This was _not_ how he wanted to start his Monday at work. “You want me to wear _tights_ at Karen’s birthday party later.”

Chris laughed out loud, ridiculed to Hell. “No.”

“You’re her hero, Chris.”

 _How sweet_. “But the costume?”

“Her party, her rules.”

 _Fair enough._ “Really?”

“Come on, Chris. Karen even set up a poll to find out which superhero the other kids want to see at her party. You were running against Batman, Superman, Iron Man and Wonder Woman - and you won!”

The representative of the children’s wards went around his table, suddenly animated as Hell. “And by a hundred percent, too! It was practically a _walkover_. Even Batman didn’t stand a chance. Batman’s a big deal - but she wants you. Everybody wants you. There is no possibility for negotiation in this.”

Trust a 10-year-old girl to talk like she ever ran for the White House. The kids sure knew who to nominate to represent their welfare, alright. Chris felt like he was having a meeting with the future President of America.

_Impressive._

Still, he let out a less-than-enthusiastic sigh. He loved his little patients with all his heart but “why the need for a costume again? I should go there as myself, right?”

“She still wants to see you come as her favorite superhero, Steve Rogers.”

Rang no bells. “I thought it’s Captain America.”

“He _is_ Captain America. Everyone knows they are the same person.”

“I don’t. And why him?”

”Oh, it’s simple - that’s because you _are_ him!”

“Excuse me?”

Evidence (a screenshot from some comic book, Christ) was presented next. Chris couldn’t argue with the image of this Steve Rogers character - the resemblance was rather uncanny. At least, superficially. The superhero was blonde-haired, blue eyed, had perfect teeth behind a charming smile and “they think I look like I can land planes on my shoulders, too?”

“Yup! The nurses are always saying that you’re ‘pretty cut’ for a CEO of a children’s hospital. I think that means you’re good-looking and hot. Right?”

“ _McKenna Grace!_ ” Chris burst into laughter, not believing what he just came out from the 10-year-old’s girl’s mouth.

“Pretty cut, huh? Seriously, you guys need to find someone else to make fun of.”

“Make fun of? Chris!” The child rolled her eyes.

“You already know that we all wonder why an awfully nice and handsome man like you is still single, boss.”

“Huh.”

Chris was done with being some hot lunch hour topic. The 35-year-old never really liked people nosing into his private life in the first place - especially when it was known by many that the most recent date he went on was a good _three years ago._

 _So I haven’t found the person who really gets me. What’s the rush anyway_? “Okay, enough about that. But can I go as myself or this Steve Rogers guy? As in plainclothes. I look ridiculous in that.”

The Children Ambassador didn’t look like she was gonna be able to change her mind, though. “You have to go as Captain America, Chris.”

“Hmmm.”

“Come on. Be a patriot. Pretty please?”

He wished he had the power to repel cuteness. Her adorable, round, bluish-green, glassy baby doll eyes revealed their power to him, pulling the CEO in and drowning him alive in an endless pit of children’s hope and dreams. All those dancing unicorns and singing bunny rabbits and extensive rainbow sparkles coming down on him without mercy.

Chris managed to contain a defeated groan.

“Fine - but under one condition.”

“Yay! Name it.”

 

* * *

 

“This looked waaaay better in my head, I swear.”

Shorts over tights. _Genius_. _A fucking Nobel Prize for you, Christopher. Now you look twice as ridiculous. A lot more decent, though._

_Urgh, God! I look so stupid in this._

Chris was still staring at his reflection in absolute dismay when someone walked into the bathroom - and what the man saw literally caused him to stop dead in his tracks.

“Woah.”

Oh yeah. He sounded like his mind was fucked over, sideways and under, alright. _Great_.

Chris wanted to completely disappear from existence until the man went, “the comic legends spoke greatly of you.”

“Sorry?”

“You. The First Avenger.”

“Ah!” Chris quickly pulled his lab coat together in his embarrassment. “You’re a fan.”

The one with the long brown hair had something else he wanted to address. “Are you wearing golf shorts?”

“It’s a _children’s_ party,” Chris reasoned, dying inside. “I figured it’ll look a lot more decent over with them on.”

“Mmm hmm.”

“In all honesty.” The blonde didn’t like the questionable purse on the other man’s lips.

“I’d rather be decked in cardboard boxes and go out there as Iron Man instead of in all this spandex.”

The man begged to differ.

“Iron Man is _so_ overrated. Anyway, whoever got you this costume did his or her homework, alright. And look!” He went, tilting his head in adoration at something next.

He pointed to the helmet on the sink. “Even your colt has the little bird wings-”

“Urgh!” Chris groaned, annoyed. “Can I just kill myself?”

“Hey now,” the man went, cocking his eyebrow at the CEO. “There is a room full of five to ten year olds down that hall waiting to celebrate a very joyous occasion with you - they’d be extremely disappointed if they knew their superhero just had a suicidal outburst.”

“Oh! Great. I’m burdened with his purpose now.”

“It’s _glorious_ , you must know that.”

Chris laughed a little. “Thanks, man.”

And that was when Chris realized that he just had an entire conversation with a man he totally had no idea who he was. There was only a handful of patients in Christopher’s Haven - a home for children whose daily battles with life-threatening diseases were tended to and supported by medical, psychological and social aid by a team of doctoral experts - so the CEO would pretty much come to recognize most of the recurring visitor faces coming in and out of the compound after a while.

And with features and a jawline like _that_ , this guy would’ve been very hard to slip out of _anyone’s_ memory, really.

 _Fresh blood._ “You new in town?”

His smirk was playful. “You know everyone in town?”

“In a way.” Chris was amused by the cool comeback. “I work in a hospital.”

“Yea. I just moved here, like, a week ago. Today I’m taking pictures for the birthday girl.”

“You know Karen?”

“Yup. Little angel. Her mom’s a very good friend of mine,” the brown-haired man replied, smiling. His hand stuck out. “Sebastian.”

“I see.” The taller one shook it. “I’m Chris. So where are you from?”

“East Coast. Brooklyn.”

“Tough nut city, New York.”

“Mmm not really. I’m originally from Romania so New York’s pretty much Heaven on Earth for me.”

“Romania!” Chris was surprised. “Could’ve fooled me.”

“You mean the accent,” Sebastian grinned.

“Yeah, I’ve lived in the Big Apple all my life - am Count Dracula no more.”

The blonde laughed and then wanted to say something about Romania. He’d been there before, on a mercy relief effort for a flood-torn village but that didn’t happen. It could be that he was distracted by the color of Sebastian’s eyes - they were a powerful shade of blue and stood out like a pair of crystal clear sapphire stones.

Chris wondered if it was the lighting in the bathroom (would’ve exceeded the design budget by 300%, though) or that Sebastian was wearing cosmetic contact lenses. Maybe it was the dark, long hair curtaining the sides of his face that highlighted the color of his eyes by a good 1000%. Unreal.

_So what about Romania again, Chris? Uh...Oh. Never mind then._

Chris shifted his curiosity. “What’s a big city kid doing at this side of the coast?”

“Sun, sand, sea. Following my dreams.”

“Modelling?”

“Nah,” Sebastian went, shaking his head. Something about his smirk told Chris that the man had heard that one too many times that he was practically tired of it.

“More of...Freelancing, free-spirit-ising. Photography, mainly. Acro-yoga...Gluten-free living. That sort of thing.”

“Really!” The blonde chuckled. “You came to the right place, then - welcome to Hollywood, Sebastian.”

“Thank you, my Captain.”

Chris’ eyes narrowed at the jab. “Make fun of me one more time.”

“Honestly? I’m not! I’m actually pretty excited about this,” Sebastian said, looking at him up and down. Up and down.

Up and down. “I’m not buttering you up for nothing, man but I really feel like I’m standing next to Steve Rogers himself right now - straight out of the comics and everything. It’s surreal!”

“...”

Sebastian’s smile widened. “I promise that you, my friend, are gonna make those children really, really, insanely happy today. Golf shorts and all. They’re _really_ excited about it.”

“Okay.” Chris went back to his reflection, sighing. “God. The things I do for these kids.”

“Well, I hate to see sad faces on children too, man.”

 _Great minds think alike_. “Yeah, that’s the worst.”

The one with the crazy blue eyes then gave him a goddamn soldier salute.

“Well, I need to do what I came here to do now. See you at the party, Captain America.”

“Okay, okay. At ease, soldier,” Chris laughed, rolling his eyes a little. Handsome and funny hardly ever co-exist so well in one person, especially at first impression - but then again there was Sebastian.

He even felt a heck lot better about the spanx, thanks to the humor. “Later.”

Sebastian excused himself and made his way into a cubicle. Chris exited and was about to start for the common room when an idea popped up in his head.

_Sebastian seems so friendly and cool, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. He happens to like kids, too._

_I should just ask. No harm, no?_

He was finally done and barely had a foot out of the stall when Chris jumped him from where he was waiting.

“Hey, Sebastian!”

“Jesus!” The brown-haired man squeaked, startled. “Dude, what the heck?”

“Sorry, man. Hey uhm, I know we just met and everything but I hope you won’t mind me asking a favour from you.”

Sebastian washed and dried his hands. “What’s up?”

“Walk with me to the party,” The CEO requested. He pulled his coat apart and gave the other man a pleading look.

“It’ll make me feel a lot less like an idiot if you go in there with me.”

“I’d like to but I’m supposed to be there before Captain America appears. Why don’t you call a colleague or someone?”

“They’re laughing at me right now so...Look, I rather you. Help a brother out?”

Sebastian raised a brow. “That depends. Can I carry the shield?”

“I have a shield.”

“Oh snap... I ruined the surprise.”

Chris eyes rounded. “It’s a tiny plastic frisbee, isn’t it?”

“I’m not obliged to say.”

“Sebastian.”

The photographer was done.

“Look, whoever your costume director is, he or she did a damn good job. What are you worried about? You’ve an athletic physique going on already. Now all you need to do is simply get rid of this...”

Sebastian pointed at his outerwear, disgusted to Hell. “...And freaking _walk it,_ son!”

The white lab coat was then chucked into a nearby bin for used scrubs. The blonde had to stop Sebastian when he tried talking him out of wearing those silly golf shorts, though. No way in Hell those were coming off, no matter what or who was going to come at him for it.

Next, they made their way for the party venue with the photographer filling him in on an important detail lovely lil’ McKenna conveniently (if not _purposely_ ) left out.

“A photo booth. That thing with the background and people putting on wacky props and stuff…?”

Sebastian nodded. “A party’s incomplete without it. The kids get to print their pictures and put it up here. Fun memories for them to have, you know?”

_Looks like no one’s ever gonna forget me in this clown suit, too!_

Some parts of Chris just wanted to curl and disappear from the face of the planet all over again until he saw the massive cork board on the wall next to him.

All the extra effort to decorate it and everything. There was the words ‘Our Hero’ in bright, neon colors at the top most middle of it and _sighhhhh...it genuinely means a lot to the kids that you wear all this spanx with utmost pride, Chris Evans._

Sebastian elbowed him. “Do it for the children, man.”

_Well, to infinity and beyond you go, Evans._

 

* * *

 

“There you are, Mr Evans!”

Dear ol’ Martha Sinclair was Karen’s mom and she looked like she was freaking out about something. Chris and Sebastian turned to the voice that rang down the empty hallway of the first floor, seeing the woman sprinting towards them, the grin on her face massive.

The one in the retro-ish emerald dress came to a stop just before she could crash into them and was next marvelling at the sight before her eyes.

“Been looking everywhere for you. Hi and _hello_ , Seb! Wait, you know each other?”

Chris turned to the man next to him. “We just met, actually.”

“Really now!” Martha was squeaking in her vocals. “And you’re already doing this together?”

“ _Together_? Errr...”

Chris was lost. Sebastian was blinking like an exotic tree frog at the woman too, equally confused by her overly enthusiastic reaction to something.

“You’re Steven Rogers. Nice costume, by the way,” Martha explained, rocking in her heels a little. “And Sebby’s Bucky Barnes - The _Winter Soldier_! Aren’t you?”

“Me? Well I-”

“Yes! Yes, he is!” Chris suddenly went, swift to cut in. “He’s uh...yeah. Bucky. Sidekick guy.”

“ _Sidekick_?” Sebastian’s jaw dropped. “Wait a minute.”

Never the Hell mind that Chris had no freaking idea who this Barnes guy was. “It’s meant to be a surprise, Mrs Sinclair. Please don’t tell Karen anything, okay?”

“Hold on.” Sebastian had something else to clarify, too. “Bucky’s not a sidekick guy, Chris. He’s Captain America’s _best friend_. They became partners when the Winter Soldier got his memory back.”

 _What a nerd_. “Really? All the better, then. So that’s what we’re doing - we’re _partnering up_!”

“That is _so_ not the plan-“

“Oh. You guys!”

They turned to the woman. Martha looked like she was going to cry.

“My princess is gonna be _soooooooo_ happy when she sees this.”

“I know! It was all his idea, actually,” Chris continued, ignoring him and talking over the other man again.

“He just couldn’t resist. Wants to be Bucky so bad because Captain America bringing his partner along will totally make Karen’s special day. Right?”

Sebastian shot Chris another menacing look done in that subtle manner. “...”

In front of them, the woman’s eyes were glassy with unbridled happiness, totally not seeing the invisible daggers coming out of Sebastian’s eyes and flying straight for the blonde.

“Really, Seb? You didn’t tell me.”

Stabbing him through and through like _I can’t believe you just dragged me into this_ while Chris was just smirking at him like _can’t be breaking hearts now, my friend._

_Sorry!_

“I guess that’s my little... _Surpriiiiiiiiiiiiise_!” The brown-haired man finally sang, throwing his hands out and waving them excitedly. He pulled an extra large smile at Martha.

Theatrical level professional. _He’s got experience, look at that._ “Gotta make this extra special for my Kare-Bear.”

Chris felt his heart melt. “Kare as in Karen? That’s cute.”

The woman nodded. “It is. Her special nickname. Awww! You’re always so very sweet, Sebby. Ah, both of you are. Thank you so very much for doing this.”

Sebastian’s smile seemed frozen on his face. He refused to look at Chris from then on. “I didn’t have the time to get a metal arm, though. Bucky ain’t Bucky without it.”

“No biggie, you’re wearing a long sleeved shirt.” Martha was optimistic. “And luckily, you have long hair. Bucky has long hair as the Winter Soldier. You know Mr Evans, this guy always has great hair. I get so jealous sometimes. Anyway!”

Chris didn’t disagree. That shine, seriously. 

She squinted her eyes next, studying Sebastian at an angle. “But I think we can add something else to make you look more like Bucky, Seb.”

“Like?”

“War paint. Around your eyes. The kids do face painting in the art room, right?”

“I think they locked it. Everyone’s already at the party, playing musical chairs,” Chris answered, reading the itinerary off the top of his head. “Yup. No entry.”

“Hmmm. Would’ve looked more Winter Soldier-y with the paint on since you don’t have the arm…Oh! Hold on.”

Something dawned on the woman’s face. Something that looked like a very bright idea - and that brightness materialised before all of their eyes in a form of a neon pink, slim-looking tube, produced from the depths of her Louis Vuitton tote.

“This eyeliner will do the trick!”

Chris contained his laughter, he really did. He felt a little bad that things just escalated to a whole new level of hell naw for the guy but then again he was silently guffawing in his amusement, so...

“Eyeliner.” Sebastian’s frown was deep. “Is it difficult to wash off? It’s not waterproof or anything right?”

“Mmm. I’m pretty sure it’ll be completely gone with an oil-based cleanser. Works for me so far,” Martha said, confident.

“It’ll need to be a little smudgey, though. Just a little.”

The brown-haired man looked worried. “Is this really necessary?”

“Come on.” Chris gave him a nudge, gleeful.

“Said you’d do it for your little Kare-Bear, man.”

Sebastian’s stare hardened. “Right.”

“It is and don’t worry, it’s just eyeliner!” Martha assured.

“I just need you to look at the ceiling - keep looking at it, okay? Also, stand really still, Sebby. I don’t wanna accidentally poke your eyes or anything.”

“Please be careful!”

“I will. Now stop moving.”

Chris’ smile stretched wider as he stood behind Martha, watching her begin her work on the other man.

He completely brushed aside Sebastian’s murder stare (he felt the chill right in his bones because those eyes, Christ) and put his hand on his hips, striking a pose that reeked of patriotism and pride.

“So Sebastian!” He sang, happy as Hell. “Are you ready to follow your _Captain America_ into the jaws of death, _buddy_?”

The one with the (really nice) long hair would’ve rolled his eyes if he could. Sebastian’s mouth twisted to give that a smirk instead.

“Well...Guess I’m stuck with you till the end of the line, _pal_.”

 

* * *

 

 

Leave a kudos or comment! Part 2 in works

:)


	2. #2 : A Little Space Invasion Ain’t So Bad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How a surprise visit and a simple dinner turned Sebastian Stan into his housemate. Next Question is : Will Chris Evans come to regret his own proposal?

**Read the rest:**

_ **[#](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/28165590) ** _ [1 : How I Met My Sergeant](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/28165590)

 

* * *

 

 

**# 2**

 

One busy, busy, busy as Hell Friday evening, a curious free-spirited fella found his way to Chris Evans’ office.

“Knock, knock.”

Chris’ work momentum broke the moment he saw who just poked his head - and his very intense pair of blue eyes - through the door.

“Hello, Mr Evans.”

“Sebastian! Hello!”

The photographer’s smile was just as wide. “May I come in?”

“Of course!” The CEO nodded, grabbing for the papers that were strewn everywhere on his table in attempt to to stack them together. Still a goddamn war zone, though. _Meh_.

“Sorry, I’m just going through some reports right now.”

The other man acknowledged the mess. “I can come again next time if you’re busy.”

“No, no. Please, come on in and sit down, Sebastian.”

“Aright.” The photographer took the seat in front of his desk, leaning all the way back and crossed his legs. “Thank you, Mr Evans.”

Chris cocked a brow. “What’s with the formality?”

“Well. I just found out that you’re the _Christopher_ in Christopher’s Haven, hence showing you my respect.”

“Seriously, Sebastian? Please don’t,” Chris chuckled, already entertained by the brown-haired man’s playful nature.

“This is a very pleasant surprise! It’s good to see you again, man. How are you?”

“Likewise. I’m doing great. You can say I don’t really miss the hustle and bustle of the City life after living here for a while. You?”

“Good to know. I’m, as you can clearly see, busy as ever. Visiting your little Kare-Bear?”

“Yes, earlier. Was wondering when I’d run into you. Karen told me I just missed you doing your usual rounds at the wards. Naturally, I went to look for a Chris Evans at the caretakers’ lounge.”

The blonde was tickled. “You thought I was a nurse.”

“Imagine my surprise,” he laughed, a little sheepish at the discovery. His bright eyes twinkled. “CEO, huh?”

“Yeah,” Chris replied, humble. “This hospital’s my dad’s legacy. May have my name but I run it in his memory.”

Sebastian’s head tilted, questioning. “His memory?”

“He passed away after I graduated from university. Been running the business ever since.”

“Sorry to hear that. You must feel honored.”

“Thanks. I am. I mean, I’m doing my very best to keep it going.”

“Kare-Bear likes it here. Says it should be called _Heaven_.”

“Heaven? Oh. She’s awfully sweet.”

“Uh-huh. You’re the CEO and you make effort to hang out with your patients - that’s immensely sweet, too.”

The blonde felt the weight of his profession lifting from his shoulders upon hearing such comforting words. In a world where love and laughs are the greatest medicine for innocent lives, it was most important that he could make some souls happy through this legacy. In return, this reminded him how much and why he loved his job, no matter how insane or manic the corporate side of it could get (his office was a living testimony of that).

He usually wouldn’t talk a lot when he was neck-deep in work mode, too but something about Sebastian’s presence right then just pulled him out of that zone and made him take a step back, relax a little. He just hoped he didn’t bore the guy to death with a snippet from his life story, though.

 _So before that happens._ “Thanks for dropping by at the most happening side of the compound, by the way.”

“I can see that,” the photographer chuckled. “Actually, I have an agenda. I was hoping to get dinner with you.”

“Dinner.”

“I’d like to personally thank the man who saved Martha’s sanity.”

The brown-haired man’s smile stretched.

“Being a single mom and with Karen’s condition, she took a lot of hits. She can focus on many things now that her baby's really well taken care of here. We owe it to the real life hero and his entire squad at your Haven.”

“Oh.” Chris was very flattered. His grin couldn’t get any bigger. “No need to thank us, we’re just doing our jobs. Ah. Don’t mind me asking - are you and Martha…?”

“No,” Sebastian went, somewhat amused by Chris assumption. “We’re just really good friends. She’s seeing someone at the moment too, so…”

“Ah. Good for her.”

“She deserves a good man. Anyway, about dinner.”

His blue, blue,blue as Hell eyes then shifted to the mountain of papers Chris just stacked at the corner of the table.

“You, sir, really look like you could start the weekend with a good plate of steak and a big glass of wine.”

_Correction. More like a whole bottle of it!_

“I…” Chris looked at his workload and then the time on his wrist and then his calendar.

“...Hmmm.”

Sebastian on the other hand, was quick to pull out an ultimatum. “But if you wanna continue to slave the night away, go on. I can still cancel the reservation.”

The CEO’s brows rose. “You already made reservations?”

“Of course.”

Chris liked that Sebastian had initiative but he could at least give it him a heads-up. He had been wearing the same shirt since morning and felt like it was a major problem.

“Where are we going? What time are we supposed to be there? Is it difficult to get a table?”

“Don’t worry. It’s pretty casual. Mostly. And yes, it’s a Friday night but seriously, no need to worry about your outfit.”

The CEO was impressed. “How’d you know?”

“Appearance is usually the first thing people would mind but seriously, don’t think too much about it.”

It was easy for Sebastian to say - he was wearing a denim-type button up shirt with sleeves folded up his forearms and a pair of sleek black slacks. His shoulder-length hair was combed back into well-styled medium pomp waves at the top, while the rest of it was tucked neatly behind his ears.

Simply-dressed but handsome as Hell Sebastian Stan was ready to kill the ladies that night and Chris Evans looked like a yeah, a boring, over-worked young executive.

_No worries, my ass._

The one with the crazy blue eyes leaned forward in his seat, his expression suddenly so serious. “I take it that you’ll need only a minute to keep those?”

Chris burst into laughter, amused by Sebastian’s determination to get him out of there. To be very honest Chris didn’t think he wanted to leave his work incomplete because he saw no end to it - he wanted to go because the photographer was going to be great company above good food and wine.

He kind of needed someone fun and easy-going to chill with after a long, treacherous week in the office.

“Well...it’s not like I’m gonna get things done by midnight anyway, right?”

Sebastian nodded in that _agreeing at 110%_ kind of way.

To which Chris let out an anxious sigh. “Can I at least change out-“

The photographer was so damn done with the delay.

His prompt could have murdered something, it really could. “We are leaving in _less than one minute,_  Mr Evans.”

_Well, then. Hello to Friyay it is!_

“Okay, okay!”

Flashing the other man a happy smile, The CEO stood up and collected the paperwork in his hands.

“Let me put this away and then we’ll go.”

 

* * *

 

 

According to travelpedia platforms, West Coast’s hippest street was called Abbot Kinney. Surprisingly, it was fairly quiet for a Friday evening.

However and as mentioned, the place where the photographer brought the CEO was packed with patrons. Eventually, Chris came to forget minding the increasing volume of highly-spirited individuals welcoming the start of the weekend around them because the food was ridiculously bomb. Sebastian wasn’t kidding about his recommendation - Chris thought his sirloin cut was so damn delicious, he wished he could eat it forever.

The blonde was glad he could catch up with Sebastian ever since their costume party stint at Karen’s birthday celebration last month. They never did exchanged numbers in the first place, so it was great that the guy knew where to find him. In the past hour, Chris came to know that Sebastian was putting up in the other side of his neighbourhood and was, in his own words, ‘so very happily engaged’ to a couple of high-profile projects and shoots in Downtown Los Angeles in the next few months.

They had a lot of things in common, too. Way too many, in fact. Chris couldn’t remember clicking with anyone so fast and so easily like he did with Sebastian - and he only knew the guy for less than two months!

Time went by and one topic shifted to another. Relationships. Having one, the brown-haired man said, was not a priority at that moment.

Chris understood that completely. The photographer admitted that he had been looking high and low, though - for a new place to live.

After a couple of months of settling into the coast life and putting up in Long Beach in a rental condo, Sebastian decided to look into buying a whole apartment or even a small house in the areas of Venice and Santa Monica for himself.

“Preferably a beachfront home,” Sebastian was stating as they continued to talk about property.

“Houses are expensive around this area, man.”

“Money is not a problem for me - I love the vibe here. I’d look around for agents but I’m kinda in a rush to move out and you know how agents are with the visiting and everything. I know you, and you know _everyone_ in this hood…”

Chris snorted, amused. “In a way.”

“In a way, yes,” Sebastian echoed, chuckling. “Yeah, figured you’d know someone or two who’s looking to sell a place away,”

Chris ran a quick memory lap. “Hm. I _do_ actually know someone who ever talked about selling her townhouse but I gotta check with her again. May take some time, though.”

“I’d like to say _take your time_ but honestly, the sooner the better.”

 _Why the rush, really?_ “I’ll let you know soon. You okay with living in a rental around here for the time being?”

“Here? I guess, yes. As long as the landlord or lady’s a normal person. With normal person habits. Kinky is fine, as long as normal.”

 _Kinky is fine, what a joker_. “Your landlord isn’t a normal person?”

“He is _ultra_ Jewish. No offence but ultras are...urgh with a capital U, know what I mean? I like him but no, man. You should see the amount of David’s stars hanging in the living room. It’s practically a galaxy on its own. I cannot take it anymore!”

Chris laughed at the mental picture of it before an idea came to him. He had two spare rooms and one of them was vacant most of the time. Since he gave up on turning the bigger space into a gaming enclave…

Without any further hesitation, he went, “why don’t you live with me for the time being? I’m up in Marina Del Ray.”

“The place with all the snazzy yachts and boats? ”

“Yeah. My apartment’s quite big - about a thousand eight square feet or so? It’s on the higher floor of the building. I get good sunset views, the sea. Relaxing. Since I live alone…”

Sebastian was not convinced by that. “Really? Thought you have a nice girl living with you.”

“No,” Chris went. “What makes you say that?”

“The crisp iron lines on your shirts,” Sebastian said, grinning. “I can cut myself if I get any closer to you.”

“So I’m more of a prim and proper kind of guy! Nothing wrong with liking well-ironed clothes, right?”

“Mmm hmm.” The brown-haired man rolled his tongue a little. “Too shy or too scared?”

“Too busy!” Chris sighed sheepishly, breaking into chortles at that sad fact in his personal life.

“You know what that’s like. So how’s about it? Give me your number. I’ll come back to you by the end of tomorrow. If you’re okay with the monthly fees-“

Sebastian’s toothy smile widened before he gave the blonde a firm, agreeing nod. Didn’t even wait for Chris to finish his proposal - the one with the crazy blue eyes was that quick to seal the deal.

Chris leaned back in his chair, pulling a smirk at the guy with, “anytime this week, I suppose?”

“Friday. Care to help me settle in?”

 

* * *

 

  
“ _SEBASTIAN!!!!_ ”

His housemate looked up from his iPad, startled from whatever that he was engrossed with to see Chris glaring so hard at him.

“Dude, I’m right here. Why are you screaming?”

“I’m screaming because of _this_!”

Chris brandished his finger at the open doors of his refrigerator, horrified. “Where’s all the beer?”

“Oh.” Sebastian pursed his lips and went back to his gadget like zero fucks given. “I removed them.”

Chris almost died. “ _What_?!”

“I removed them. You need to cut back on the alcohol, my friend.”

“Why!” _Fucking kidding me!_ “Why are you doing this?”

“For your own good. You’re generally healthy and have such a nice physique going on. But what good can all that muscle do when your liver’s fucked up?”

He couldn’t believe this was happening. Chris knew they ever talked about it (many times, in fact) but he wasn’t expecting it to really god damn happen - especially when his new housemate decided that it was _his_ call to make.

“Still. You can’t just remove them without telling me,” Chris replied, angry.

“Seb, you have no rights to do that!”

Sebastian pushed his bangs off his face, his expression not showing an ounce of empathy.

“I know I don’t - but you complain all the time about how you should slow down on the beer.”

“Yeah, so? You didn’t have a problem listening.”

“I didn’t - until you started to sound like a goddamn record player. Broken. When you keep repeating it, I know it’s going to be a serious problem. So before that happens…”

“Since when are you the boss of my life?”

“I’m fixing you, from within, starting today.”

“I don’t want to be fixed.” Chris’ voice rose a decibel higher. He was so mad, he was literally barking at the guy.

“And there is no need to be overly dramatic about this!”

“Overdramatic? Look who’s talking,” Sebastian scoffed, unrelenting in his stand. “It’s only three, Chris. You’re drinking in the afternoon now?”

For the record, Chris knew that having a housemate would mean his boundaries would be challenged. However, for a person who fiercely treasured his personal spaces and privacy, Chris genuinely looked forward to having another living soul in the house - for both the extra income and the company.

Ever since the guy moved into his property, Chris celebrated the fact that the New York-based photographer was overall, an awesome human being. Sebastian enjoyed smart, meaningful conversations and was funny in a dorky, space nerd kind of way. As a tenant he was almost a blessing - he picked up after himself, was responsible, a total neat freak and best of all, the brown-haired man could and loved to cook. Obviously he wasn’t selfish with his hobby. Chris really appreciated the home-cooked meals thanks to the low-key Masterchef’s skills. It had been a long while since his kitchen came alive.

So did Chris Evans expected Sebastian Stan to request a fucking _death sentence_ all of a sudden? No.

Somewhere in his bones, he knew the guy had only the best intentions at heart.

_But the nerve of him, really!_

The blonde scowled. “Work’s piling up like crazy, Seb. Can’t a man just take a time out, have his beer?”

“And get drunk and forget that he needs to solve whatever problem he has before it piles up even more?”

The blond was stumped. Suddenly, Sebastian hit a spot. He was right about something.

Then came annoying part: He could protest all he wanted but Chris would eventually come to agree that Sebastian was right (the circle only had one side, all the damn time!).

And that would usually make him feel like punching something so bad.

Something like _himself_. “I’m heading to the store.”

“I’m following you.”

 _What the hell, this guy_! “I’m on parole now.”

“You can’t trust your own mind, Chris. Not at this point.” Sebastian quickly got up from his chair, adamant.

“If you really wanna do this-”

“Hey. I never said I wanted to do this-”

“-then we are going to do this together.”

“What? No!” Chris actually stomped his foot, he really goddamn did. To Hell with being a child, really.

“No way, Seb. Leave me alone!”

“Once upon a time, you coerced me to put on a ridiculous amount of eyeliner and it didn’t go away for two weeks, Chris.”

“That was for a noble cause!” His jaw dropped.

“Oh, so you got rid of my entire stock - a good _six whole months later_ \- for that. Seriously. This is your grand and elaborate play to get back at me. _Seriously_?”

It wasn’t. Chris knew that. Sebastian was just saying it because he was dead set to continue gnawing on his nerves until he conceded defeat.

Sebastian was still calm. “You’ll lose control, Chris. I’ve been there. It ain’t a pretty place.”

“Nonsense. I’ve been drinking since legal age. Never had a problem or lapse or whatever,” Chris argued, frowning hard.

Without another word he turned around and stalked out, snatching the keys to his car along the way.

“And you, _stay_!”

Obviously Sebastian ignored the order and jogged up to him before his housemate could exit their home.

His hand shot out to grab Chris by the elbow. ”Calm down and hear me out. I’m not sorry for throwing everything out, by the way but you really need to listen to me.”

The blonde scoffed, ridiculed. “Look, I don’t know when or why you suddenly want to become my _messiah_ but you’re crossing major lines here, friend. Do you see me throwing your organic bullshit out?”

”No, because organic bullshit don’t cause liver and kidney failures. A drinking problem does.”

”I don’t and _won’t_ have a drinking problem. You’re clearly thinking extremely and negatively about this!”

His housemate gave that a ridiculed snort. “Am I, now?”

Chris threw his hands up, irritated. “Yes!”

“So you think I haven’t noticed that you are drinking way too much and way too often these days, Chris? Especially when you go through hard times at work.”

 _That’s awfully observant._ “...”

“It’s starting to worry me, a lot. Hey. I care about you, that’s why I did this.”

The CEO wanted to deafen that out. “It helps, okay.”

“And what about when you start _depending_ on it?”

“Thanks for caring about me, but…” Chris folded his arms over his chest, still wanting to be stubborn and ice-cold to what he just heard.

“I’ll die, Sebastian. I’ll die from going cold turkey.”

“You won’t because _I’ll help you_. Every step of the way. One month. Give it up.”

The color on Chris’ face disappeared. “A _month_?!”

“Fine. One week and we’ll take it from there,” Sebastian relented softly, finally meeting the blonde in the middle.

He let go of his hold on his housemate. “Just give it a try, okay? You’ll thank me.”

Chris knew that this was it. This was his end game - all the more when Sebastian was looking at him with _those_ eyes. The CEO was convinced it had mind-altering powers of some sort and it was making him give in, slowly.

“I _promise_ that you will thank me. So, please.”

He could argue until the cows turn into hamburger patties and one thing would still be definite: Sebastian Stan just won the war.

The blonde rolled his eyes. Hard. “You know what, Sebastian? You are so… _So_ …”

“I know you hate me right now.”

_Hate is such an understatement, damn it._

“Aaaaaaaaargh!”

Chris had to let the remainder of his steam out. He had to explode, even if he had to express it through balling his fists and then a scream. The blonde just signed up for some sort of extreme intervention program without even deserving to be in it in the first place.

Still fuming like a madman, he slammed the keys back down on the table and grunted at the other man.

“Okay. I’m really, really stressed up right now and I need it to go away. What do I do, Obi Wan? Tell me.”

Sebastian’s handsome face brightened up.

“Sit down. Have some chamomile tea - and then we’ll start with some Vinyasa yoga.”

 

* * *

 

 WIP : #3

 

Thanks for reading!


	3. #3 : Trouble Is You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone from Chris’ past came back for him and despite all that went down, he was ready to give her another chance. 
> 
> What will it take for him to realize that this was an awful, awful idea?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. I ran into a writer’s block and had to make a lot of changes on the plot. It’s all good now...enjoy!

**_ Read the rest _ **

#1: [How I Met My Sergeant](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/28165590)

#2 : [A Little Personal Space Invasion Ain’t so Bad](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/28367022)

 

* * *

 

 

**#3**

 

Time passed very quickly despite the very chilled nature of coastal living in Los Angeles. One week became two months before the day came for Chris Evans to celebrate his long-awaited success.

Like, _finally!_

It was midday, the start of a busy week at work and Chris knew that he should really downplay his excitement by a Hell lot. After all, he was going to step into an important meeting with some members of the senior management at his Haven in the next half hour. He needed to bring some serious, professional A-game. There was no room for jest and joy.

That went to Hell when his cell phone went off. The CEO was so giddy, he practically lunged for it to answer the incoming call.

“ _Sebby_!”

Sebastian was outdoors, heading to somewhere. Vehicles passed in the background, also voices of people talking around him.

“Yeah, I’m here! What’s up? What’s the emergency?”

“Twelve percent.”

“What?”

“My body fat percentage! It finally dropped to twelve freaking percent. I can see my abs from space now.”

On the other end of the line, Sebastian Stan didn’t sound like he was going to jump for joy.

In fact, he deadpanned - hard. “You called me seven freaking times.”

“Did you get the picture I sent you?”

“No. I haven’t had the chance to. Wanna know why?”

“Why?”

“Because I _busy_! I was in the middle of a shoot and left a very good shot because you wouldn’t stop calling me.”

 _Bad timing_. “Oh, jeez. Sorry, man.”

“I thought something terrible happened, Chris!”

Chris’ spirit dropped at the less-than-stellar response from the other man. “I got a little over excited when I saw the latest readings. I’ll talk to you later, then.”

Sebastian gave that a loud sigh before going, “Hey, wait. Gimme a sec.”

The noise from the photographer’s side began to fade and then went quiet after Chris heard a door slam behind him. Sebastian was back inside wherever he was, he guessed.

“You were saying that you got it down to twelve percent? For real?”

“Yes!” Chris went, perking up again when the other man’s interest peaked at what he was informed with.

“And you started out at eighteen, right?”

“Yup!” The blonde was practically squealing but what the Hell, really. “Crazy, right?”

“No, Chris - it’s _awesome_! I mean you’re already a natural yet unsung athlete so this was expected,” the brown-haired man said, know-it-all as Hell.

“But it’s still so great! When did you get the results?”

 _Natural yet unsung athlete_. Sebastian had the quirkiest way of saying things sometimes.

“You know the Tanita machine we saw at the Expo the other day? I got that. It came just an hour ago and I got it to work so I took my readings.”

According to Sebastian, it would take 12 weeks for a person to see such changes happen to his body.

(Thankfully) That wasn’t the case with Chris.

He was genetically blessed in the first place, so he didn’t really have to put in crazy hard work on his meat vessel - his real battle was his mental strength: giving up junk and alcohol for the first seven days was the real killer.

Initially, Chris believed that letting his housemate pull all the stops on him wasn’t going to work at all. He loved takeouts way too much, lived for a pint or two as and when he liked it. Hitting the gym twice a week under an hour each was as good as serious fitness regime.

“Jesus, you actually bought that thing.”

“Damn right I did. I’m gonna bring it back home and put it in the balcony so we can continue to keep track of things.”

Sebastian however, had a certain way of psycho-ing the CEO into trusting him and following through with the process. For one, the guy wasn’t a complete fitness nazi but he was a _commitment nazi_ \- the photographer was a solid 1000 percent in this program he just dragged the blonde into, it was both immensely irritating yet inspiring at the same time.

And so by the third week, Chris clocked his first ever 5 mile run one morning (Since when? College?) without seeing death flashing before his eyes. His tolerance for stress increased drastically. Most importantly, he hadn’t woken up from a sleep feeling like he was hit by a bus lately. He felt younger at 35-years-old. His performance at work was better, he wasn’t easily tired after a hard day’s grind.

And the ladies at his workplace were absolutely _lovin’ it._ Oh, he knew. They were hardly subtle with the behind-his-back giggling whenever he walked past them, anyway.

So it was safe to say that all those occasional manslaughter tendencies he developed for the photographer during the initial process of his lifestyle overhaul was officially, no more.

“ _I promise that you’ll thank me_.”

Chris smirked. “Thanks for everything, Seb.”

The CEO of _Christopher's Haven_ could see the width of the beaming grin on the man’s face in his mind.

“I appreciate the love but the way I see it, all credits should go to you, man. You earned the new you.”

Although that totally reeked of ‘told you so’, but hey, he was genuinely happy and proud for him. Chris didn’t think he could’ve done it all on his own even if he paid himself to, that was for sure.

And then he went, “well…Is that all? I really gotta go.”

“Oh! Right. I need to tell you something else.”

He turned to his laptop. _Clackety clack clack_.

“Don’t bother cooking anything if you’re planning to because I’m gonna order lots and lots of pizza and you don’t get to have a say in it. Dinner’s on me, buddy.”

“Oh no. Already?” Sebastian laughed. “Typical!”

“Yes. What time are you reaching home later?”

“Tonight’s the Patriot’s first game of the season - of course I’m going to be home by six.”

“Yes, damn right you will!” Chris sang, pumped to Hell at the mention of his most favorite team. He wasn’t really a huge NFL fan (he preferred baseball) but when it came to football, Sebastian supported the New England Patriots - which, according to the blonde, was one of life’s smartest decisions to live by.

“And you know what that means? I already got the food.”

Sebastian didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to know what Chris wanted.

“Fine. You deserve it anyway - I’ll get the Heineken.”

 _Bless his soul._ “Oh goodie! You know my favorite.”

“It’s practically your middle name, Chris.”

The photographer’s snarky as Hell remark moved no mountains, though. Christopher _Heineken_ Evans actually sounded so goddamn beautiful, the CEO could just cry himself a river - everyone was welcomed to join him.

“Muchos gracias, amigo!”

 

* * *

 

 

 

Usually, a person of his position and power would have preferred the shortest route out of the office after a hard day’s work.

Chris however, preferred the long walk down the twisted hallways of his _Haven_ to get to his car. This was because he could stop to poke his head into the wards and see his patients’ faces light up when he shared some fun facts or pun-ny jokes with them.

So what shape in Mathematics is also a magician?

_Drum roll, please…._

Answer : Octa- _gone_.

_Badum-tusss!_

The smiles, laughter and eyerolls he received made his entire evening already. Chris was in his happiest mood by the time he reached the carpark. Other than looking forward to the first Patriots’ game of the season, Sebastian just sent a picture of the bottom half of their fridge which was fully stocked. The pizzas were already on their way. He was gonna eat and drink a Hell lot and not feel any regret at all because _yay for new metabolism_!

He was about to get into his Audi when someone called out his name - and that was when the entire Universe came to a complete standstill.

Chris couldn’t believe it. Standing in front of his sportscar was someone who came back from the dead. He blinked a couple of times in his shock, finding the name of this person stuck at the base of his throat the more he tried to say it.

Her widening smile finally shattered his wordless gawk.

“Jenny.”

 

* * *

 

 

 

Snapping out of his awe, Chris stepped away from his car and took a step towards the petite woman.

Her smile widened. She too, moved for him.

“Hello, Christopher.”

His feet froze, preventing Chris from advancing any further. A nicer response for that never came to him, so what spilled out of his mouth instead was a less-than-friendly, “what are you doing here?”

Her big brown eyes turned glassy when they stared deeper into Chris’, while the rest of her words fell back into a nervous sigh. The blonde waited, despite feeling a sledgehammer hitting him square in the chest, rattling the nerves underneath his skin.

 _Perhaps I should rephrase my question._ “Why are you here, Jenny?”

Again, the woman failed to answer him.

It didn’t take long for Chris to decide that she didn’t have anything that was worth his attention and turned away from her to go back to his car. “I have to go.”

“You.”

That struck the back of his head, hard. “Excuse me?”

“I’m here to see you.”

Something inside him recoiled. He wasn’t expecting her to appear again in his life, out of the blue. He wasn’t prepared for anything, it turned him numb. The unpleasant scratching at the walls of his heart that came after that made it even worse.

The CEO was staring hard at her again. “What for?”

“To tell you that I’m back and that I’m happy to see you again.”

The air he was breathing was filled with needles, filling the tightness of chest with the single most familiar emotion he hated to have : pain.

 _Fucking kidding me._ “You’re happy to see me.”

“Yes. Very,”

 _Only now?_ “What do you want?”

“I was hoping we could talk.”

“About what?”

“About everything. Us, especially.”

 _Us_. That was a good one. He gave that a mighty, majestic scoff and without another word, stalked back to his car.

“Chris! Wait. Please, I just want to-“

Jenny didn’t move from where she stood, but her mouth continued to mouth words the man didn’t bother to want to hear. He got into his vehicle, brought it to life. A song from Guns N Roses that automatically blasted itself from his stereo drowned out the rest of the outside noise.

He was about to reverse out of the lot when her fist came knocking at his window, seemingly bent in getting his attention.

Chris paid none and was soon speeding his way home. He had much, much better plans, anyway.

“Have a nice life.”

 

* * *

 

 

 

 _Die hard fan_ was not quite the right word to describe the guy, to be honest. After living with Chris Evans for almost half a year, Sebastian Stan came to understand that New England Patriots was _everything_ to the young CEO.

Especially when it came to a certain quarterback by the name of Tom Brady, AKA, his idol forever. Chris would turn into a shameless fanboy for the star in a snap, no doubt about that. The CEO ever told the photographer how he completely froze when he got to meet the guy in the locker room once. He could only remember asking the player to sign his football which of course, ended up in a glass case on a shelf in his room. The rest of the experience was pretty much a bright blur. Still, it was the best night ever.

So when Chris missed the first half hour of Tom Brady’s first game of the new season, Sebastian had the right to be ultra suspicious of the man who just walked into the door of their apartment.

“Stop.”

Chris stopped dead in his tracks.

“What’s the name of that plant over there?”

“Huh?” The CEO’s face scrunched in confusion but followed the photographer’s pointed finger anyway.

“That one? Dexter.”

“Dexter what?”

“Dexter Kayden Grimwald,” Chris replied, his face straight as the wall he just hung his jacket on.

Sebastian’s precious as Hell potted succulent would have a social security number if the photographer was anymore emotionally attached to it.

“Okay, you’re the real Chris. You may come in.”

Chris was humored. “What’s going on?”

“Where the Hell were you? I called you and your office like a billion times.”

 _Shit. Where’s my phone?_ “Oh, Did you?”

“Yes! You missing the entire first half of Tom Brady?”

“Oh, did I?”

Boy. The look on Sebastian’s face was epic. He was so baffled by Chris’ response, he fell into a speechless, horrified gawk. Literally. Dropped jaws and rounded eyes and all.

Mindfucked, he was. “Should I panic?”

“No! I…” Chris gave the back of his neck a quick massage. “...I got held up in traffic.”

That was a horrible lie. He lived twenty minutes from his workplace and traffic jams did not exist in Venice for almost all the days in a year. Chris could tell his housemate goddamn knew he was throwing a floozy curveball from the way his crazy blue eyes were reading him.

He turned to the TV screen to see that they were still running the adverts for half-time. Deciding not to ruin the rest of the night, Chris gave Sebastian a dry smile before moving past him for their living room.

Sebastian’s tone changed. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah. I’m good. Roadside tree-pruning, Seb. Worst time of the day to do it.”

The photographer’s brow rose. “Tree-pruning.”

“Yep. Had to take a longer detour.”

Thankfully, Sebastian could sense that Chris wasn’t too hot to talk about whatever and dialed his curiosity all the way down.

“Right. That sucks. Okay.”

He motioned for the boxes stacked on the kitchen counter. “I haven’t touched the pizza by the way. They turned cold already. I’m gonna heat them up before the next half starts.”

Chris was glad he changed the topic. “You actually waited for me. Why didn’t you just eat some?”

“Oh, I mastered the art of delayed gratification.”

The (slightly) taller one burst into laughter before dropping his bags into the reading chair next to him.

 _What a joker_. “It’s just pizza, Seb. Chill, will ya?”

“Actually, I was gonna let you take the first celebratory bite for your twelve percent achievement so it’s only right to wait for the Guest of Honor. Tonight is your night after all.”

Chris was touched. “Ah! Thanks for thinking about my greatest moment. Hey, I wouldn’t have done it without you, man. You’re the main Honoree here.”

Sebastian gave that a small bow. “I shall humbly accept your eternal gratitude as my reward, then.”

 _Look at that smug look on his face. Didn’t even attempt to even hide it. Humble, my ass_!

He stuck his head into the fridge next and exhaled his happiness, slowly. “Hello there, beautiful!”

The sight of nicely arranged green glass bottles made Chris grin like an idiot. He pulled one out, popped the cap off with an opener and took a long, long swig of his Heineken.

“Ahhh! God, I’ve missed you so, so much.”

He closed his eyes and opened it with renewed spirit - the all-too familiar taste of his favorite brand of alcohol in his throat was, as expected, beyond heavenly. It cooled the raging fire within his soul, the restlessness in his system. Couple that with the delicious smell of pepperoni and cheese coming from the microwave and football on TV and he was back to good. He was calm again.

On the other side of things, Sebastian saw all of this in a very dramatic setting, judging from the _what in Hell is up with you right now_ way of staring at him.

And Chris would have totally told him what really happened earlier that caused him to miss his precious Tom Brady in action but _nah, not now._

_Maybe not ever._

What was most important was the present moment right then - the second half of the match needed his absolute and undivided fanboy attention.

_The past will remain as it is._

_Good riddance to bad rubbish._

 

* * *

 

 

 

First and foremost, the Patriots won their first game of the season by a landslide victory and that was because Tom Brady was the bestest, ever.

Secondly, pizza with cold beer after a two months plus of _gastronomical abstinence_ was definitely the next highlight of his night. Best of all and amazingly, he didn’t overdo it with the alcohol this time. He was a little tipsy but at least he wouldn’t wake up the next day wanting to shoot the sun down for rising.

The chill of the night bit into him when Chris went to throw out the trash and then to his car to get his phone after the match-slash-‘party’ ended. Swearing that if he ever turned off his mobile the world would literally stop working altogether, the CEO shook his head at the sight of the dozens of unread messages that came in during the game.

_Nothing urgent so far. Good._

It was only when he was back inside his apartment when a call came in.

_Private number._

Chris took a glance at the time to see that it was a quarter after eleven. Something told him this wasn’t work-related or anything that was life-and-death.

For that reason, Chris didn’t pick it up. Instead, he turned his phone into silent mode and let it buzz on the counter until it stopped. It rang three times in total before a text message came in.

_I know you’re there. Please pick up the phone, Chris._

Chris stared at the message until his head began to spin a little. Took a deep breath only to let out his fourth groan. He was overwhelmed by the return of the emotional chaos in him but he couldn’t help feeling a little excited that Jenny was at the end of the other line, waiting for him to respond.

Oh, it was a bad, bad, _very_   _bad_ idea and he goddamn knew that but he started to write his reply anyway.

‘Hey, sorry about earlier at the Haven…’

*Backspace*

‘Okay. You want to talk? Fine. What do you’…

*Backspace*

‘Okay. Meet me at…’

*Backspace*

“So...who is she?”

He must have been so deep inside his own bubble that Chris didn’t realize Sebastian had reappeared in the kitchen, grabbing an Evian from the fridge. The photographer’s prompt was gentle but it caused him to jump a little in his seat.

Chris quickly flipped his phone over. “No one.”

“Okay.” The brown-haired man drawled. “Must have been a lot of trees, huh?”

“Huh?” The CEO was so lost all of a sudden. “What trees?”

Sebastian smirked like he totally figured something out and was simply dying to share his discovery but was just going to wait for it.

“Oh!”

The horrible lie he told to throw off the other man’s curiosity earlier. _Tree-pruning, what the flying fuck._

“Yeah. Lots of old branches to saw off. Don’t wanna have one landing on your car while you’re driving.”

_God that sounded even stupider when in detail._

The other man agreed. “Very hazardous.”

But Sebastian’s eyes, they bore into him the more Chris tried to build a wall around himself when in defense mode. Truthfully, his heart never felt this heavy in a long, long time - it was as if it was tied to a bag of bricks and then thrown to sink to the bottom of a lake. Jenny was responsible for it.

Cornered but still unrelenting, he decided to drop his head and break his housemate’s prying stare before offering Sebastian a flat, “she was no one, Seb. It’s none of your concern.”

“Alright, then,” the photographer went, letting it go when the blonde topped that with a forced smile.

“Don’t sleep too late. Nighty-night, Chris.”

 _Such a mom_. “Good night, Sebastian.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

It was difficult to sleep with all the static noise in his head, though.

And that was how, minutes later, Chris was standing outside of Sebastian’s room. His fist landed on the cool of the door to give it a few knocks and the second his housemate swung it open, the blonde decided that this guy was his going to be his outlet.

“We used to live together.”

It was almost midnight and Sebastian was caught off guard by what Chris just blurted his in face. “What?”

“Her name was Jenny.” He continued. “And we used to live together. Here. This was our home. Supposed to be, I mean.”

“Oh. Okay. You sure you wanna talk about it?”

_Wait, wait. He doesn’t need to know. Besides, what good will come out from telling him anyway? You should be talking to Jenny. It’s been so long anyway, doesn’t hurt to know more, right?_

_One cup of coffee and that’s it. That was your plan, Chris. You got this!_

“You know what? It’s nothing,” Chris suddenly said, quick to pull back on everything else that was ready to exit out him.

“I’m sorry. It’s already so late. Never mind me.”

Sebastian’s brows rose. “How do you sleep later?”

Chris fell silent. “...”

The photographer stepped aside. “Come in.”

“I don’t want to trouble you with my emo shit.”

“Kinda too late for that, Evans.”

He’d always liked what his housemate had done with his sleeping space - he made full use of the neutral paint tone on the wall to give an excellent balance for the rest of the cooler greys and reds that were on his furniture and such. The warm lights by the sides of his bed were turned down low and the smell of Lavender coming from a diffuser nearby was calming to his senses.

_No wonder he sleeps like he’s dead sometimes._

Chris sat down at the edge of the bed, giving his housemate an appreciative smile. “Thanks, Seb.”

“No problem.” The other man dropped himself next to the blonde. “Just don’t give me tree-pruning next time. You’re so smart but i can tell that telling lies is not your forte.”

“Duly noted.” Chris chuckled, embarrassed. “And yes, never been great with fibbing.”

“Start talking.”

Something snapped within him. Next thing Chris knew, his agitation came spilling out like waterfall.

“Jenny’s in town. Showed up at the _Haven_ , earlier - totally out of the blue. I must have looked like I saw a ghost. Jesus Christ, really.”

“How long has it been?”

“ _Years_ , Seb. Four whole years to be exact! I thought I’d never hear from her again. Long story short: Now she’s back and she says it’s because of me. She’s happy to see me and wants to fucking _talk_.”

“About?”

“Us.”

Sebastian tilted his head, curious. “How bad was it?”

“Catastrophic.”

“That sounds a bit much.”

“Let’s see. Long story short: Cheated on me the first time. I took her back because I was so stupidly in love and she promised to not do it again. How naive was I? _Very_ ,” Chris replied, seething at the memory of it all.

“Because after that she left me again and this time, went off to marry someone whom I’d never heard of and subsequently moved to Atlanta.”

“Wow.” Sebastian’s eyes rounded. “Damn.”

“Didn’t see that one coming, huh? I didn’t.”

“I have to ask: Did you do anything to make her leave you?”

“Whatever it was and even if I did contribute to our break up, there’s absolutely no good reason for anyone to justify why he or she cheats, you know?“

His chest tightened. “Ultimately, cheating is a mistake one chooses to make. And when the same mistake repeats itself…”

“Was Jenny your first love?”

Chris nodded. “Hell, I couldn’t live without her.”

“I see,” Sebastian said. “Then it’s understandable that you gave her many chances to redeem herself. So just now. Were you gonna give her the benefit of a doubt? Meet her and hear what she has to say to you this time?”

“Yes.” Chris had to admit it. “And I know I shouldn’t!”

“You can’t help it, Chris. It’s Jenny.”

He sighed, lost. “Guess she knows that I’ll always have a weakness for her.”

“Well, your first love is always the hardest to forget.”

The blonde was amazed and thought it was great that Sebastian was thinking the exact same way he was. He empathized without question. Chris felt the weight on his shoulders begin to lighten, the mania in his emotions starting to settle down. It was the right decision to go to the guy and let it out after all.

And then Sebastian said, “so that’s where your problem is.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s you, Chris. _You’re_ your own problem.”

 

* * *

 

 

 

The young CEO didn’t like how Sebastian just turned and then zeroed in on him like he was the evil guy in the tragic love scenario all of a sudden.

“Me? I didn’t cause any of this!”

Chris felt like someone just smacked him across the face with a baseball bat. “She was the one who broke my heart into pieces, Sebastian. Numerous times. I thought you were listening?”

“I was,” Sebastian assured, as-a-matter-of-factly and all up in his face with it.

“I was also listening to a man who loved someone so deeply, so fiercely and so wholesomely that he allowed his feelings to turn him into an overly dramatic, ultra emotional sap of an idiot.”

Chris’ jaw dropped at the insult. “Huh!”

“After what you’ve told me, which I believe is entirely true because you’re a horrible liar and all but I think you’re pathetic, Chris. You need to wake up.”

 _Pathetic?!_ “The Hell’s gotten into you, Seb?”

Chris snapped, appalled that Sebastian’s would come at him like that from seemingly out of nowhere. A second ago he was team bro _and now_?!

“You know what? I knew it - this was a bad idea.”

“Yes.” Sebastian snorted. “Giving Jenny one more chance is a bad idea. You need to see that.”

“I’m not talking about Jenny! I’m talking about _you_.”

His blood was boiling over. How dare this person dictate him like he knew his entire history, knew him inside out.

“Look, if you don’t want to care about what I’m going through then you should’ve told me earlier so that I didn’t just waste my fucking time telling you about it!”

He started out, fuming. Chris was almost out the door when Sebastian went, “are you days still cold without her, Chris?”

“Of course not!” He huffed. “I told you - I got over it.”

“Then you shouldn’t see or talk to her again. You shouldn’t let her have that control over you.”

Perhaps it was done on purpose and timed really well - Sebastian Stan building up tension only to pick the perfect time to fire a live one straight into his heart.

Well, it fucking worked because Chris Evans choked in his attempt to respond in his defense.

Sensing that he had him right where he wanted, the photographer continued to light him up with, “if you chose to not want to associate yourself with her a long time ago, then stand your fucking ground.”

The blonde took a second to wonder if Sebastian had some vulgar, mean girl alter-ego in him because this whole quick-shift-to-the-next-God-knows-what-persona was rather fascinating. Strange, but fascinating.

Whatever he was saying, though. He was striking chord after chord - Sebastian Stan seemed to know the tunes to this sad song as if by heart and soul.

“Chris, it’s been four years since she left you in the ditch - not caring that you were hurting and suffering at all. Do you honestly think she has anything new to offer?”

_Right. Okay….Good point._

“Especially now that she’s already married - well, supposedly. There shouldn’t be an ‘us’ anymore, should it?”

Sebastian spared so little. Kept firing at Chris, point blank like _bang, bang_!

“I’d like to believe that you’ve learnt your lesson by now, man - It should be so simple to handle Jenny.”

_Bang, bang, bang!_

“The only reason why she’s like your Kryptonite is because you let her become one.”

 _Bangbangbangbang_!

By the time he was done, Chris was left staring at Sebastian for the longest of time, struck dumb by the epic smackdown on his common sense. It definitely wasn’t working until the guy shredded him to smithereens.

And just like that, the skies opened. Everything began to look crystal clear: memories of his past dealings with his ex with all its beauty, angst, remorse and regret that conned his judgement...

_Now how in the flying fuck did I not see that?!_

“Oh my God? Oh, my _God_!”

Chris was burying his face deep into the palms of his hands next. He wanted to scream into them in his frustration but ended up releasing a very long, very defeated groan instead.

“I. Am. A stupid fuck, Seb.”

“You’re not a stupid fuck, Chris.”

“Oh, but I _am_.”

The band aid he offered wasn’t going to cover any of the goddamn bullet holes he just riddled the blonde with. “It makes sense. What the Hell was I thinking?! I knew I shouldn’t. But I... _Jesus Christ_.”

Sebastian tried so hard to shut his face up but he totally looked like ‘told you so’.

“There, there. All you needed was a fresh opinion from a total outsider, Chris. Believe me, this kind of drama pretty much has a predictable ending.”

Inside his head, the blonde was punching himself for failing so hard when it came to Jenny. He only stopped when Sebastian’s hand landed on his knee to give it a soft, comforting squeeze.

“I don’t blame you for realizing that now, Chris. The two of you had a really solid history together.”

Once more, Sebastian just _switched back_ to the gentle-spoken man Chris knew him for. It was seriously amazing.

“She was someone you’d gladly and literally give your _everything_ to - getting over a heartbreak from that level of commitment ain’t going to be a walk in the park. You gotta get lost in it before you find a way out.”

His eyes, they were suddenly so kind. The fire in those baby blues that Chris witnessed earlier when he unleashed his savagery on him was gone.

“Being in love is all so beautiful until you get yourself thrown off the ride for being the hopeless romantic one in the relationship.”

“Yeah, man. Sounds about goddamn right,” Chris chuckled, still feeling sad and stupid.

“So you’ve been this crazy in love too, huh? That’s why you seem to be on point with things.”

Sebastian’s eyes fluttered at that question. The way Chris put it across to him was meant to be light and casual but it seemed like the other man was caught off guard by it. His face was turning pink real fast.  
  
And then the tables, they were turning. Chris cocked a brow at the other man, his curiosity only growing at the sight of his jaws moving around in rising discomfort.

It prompted him to go, “what’s your story, Seb?”

That hit something. Sebastian’s answer was dry and curt. “Don’t have to make this about me, Chris.”

 _Another attitude switch?_ “I’m not! It’s just that I’m totally damn done with mine and you have no idea how relieved and empowered I feel - it’s all thanks to you.”

Chris continued, “I’m all ears if you wanna share-“

“No.” Sebastian was quick cut in. He seemed agitated all of a sudden. “I, uh, I can’t talk about it, actually. I swear.”

 _That’s a weird way to put it_. “What do you mean you _can’t_ talk about it? Is it recent? Were you seeing someone before you came here-“

“I’m not supposed to - that’s what I mean, Chris,” the brown-haired man went, interrupting him again. He was obviously annoyed that Chris was still all up in his face in his persistency.

“And I really, _really_ don’t want to think about it in the first place so let alone tell you anything, okay?”

Next, he was motioning Chris to leave his room.

“I’m happy that I could help you with your issue. Now since we’re done, do you mind?”

 _Shit, he’s actually getting mad_. Chris was holding up his hands like he was surrendering himself next - while walking on landmines.

 _Maybe his was worse than my case_. “Alright, I’ll go.”

“Thanks.”

He was almost out the door when he turned back to the other man, feeling terrible for behaving the way he just did.

Sebastian frowned. “Chris. I need my sleep. I’ve a long day tomorrow.”

“Okay.” The blonde nodded, acknowledging that he was being kicked out in a nice way.

“Thank you so damn much for listening and sorting my mess out - you literally got my head out of my ass and I owe you - again and big time. I’m dead serious about this.”

“You’re welcome.”

He wasn’t done, still. “And I’m really sorry if I disrespected your need to keep your matter private. I don’t know what came over me but I want you to know that I can be supportive of you too. For _anything_. We may not know each other for a really long time but you’re not an outsider to me. You _literally_ changed me - I really like having you around. I hope we can be more open to each other.”

“That’s nice to know.”

His lips then twitched to a tiny smile. “And okay, fine. Apology accepted. I hope you can rest well now, Chris.”

“I hope you can too, Seb. Night.”

He was still wondering how fucked up could Sebastian’s previous relationship be after the latter closed the door behind him once he was out of his room.

Maybe he heard it. Chris was not even halfway across for his when Sebastian suddenly opened his door again and then went, “State politician.”

The blonde turned back to the other man. Sebastian sighed, leaning against the pillar and running a hand through his hair. His eyes were dark. He looked beaten to the ground.

“He was a state politician and I never knew what love was until I met him.”

Chris was surprised at first before he was impressed. _That was a big ass fish caught!_ “You were involved with someone in _politics_?”

“Yeah. He still is, actually so I can’t give you any names. The reason why I can’t talk about it is legit - he has me under this insane, iron-clad gag order.”

“A gag order!” Chris blinked. Boy, That came out of nowhere. And he thought _he_ had issues. “For real?”

“Yup. I find it ruthless to be honest but I guess it’s necessary. I had no choice but to agree to it.”

The blonde was in utter disbelief. “Why?”

“Things got really complicated so I gave him what he wanted.”

”A lawsuit.”

”I made him happy.”

“Jesus.”

Sebastian was rather amused at the fact that Chris was obviously struggling to process the drop on his head. He was still a good sport, though and gave the blonde a challenging smirk.

“So how’s that to rival your crazy ex girlfriend drama, huh?”

_What a time to goddamn joke, seriously!_

Chris wished he had something really good or comforting to say but for the second time in the same night, he was struck completely dumb. It didn’t take a law graduate to know that slapping a freaking gag order on someone meant that the defendant had done something of civil wrong, perhaps a breach of contract or trust of some sort, on a grave scale. Such order would mean that Sebastian would be taking all the secrets to his grave.

The young CEO thought it must have been so depressing for the guy, until he realized something else.

“Wait. You were in a relationship with a _man_?”

 

* * *

 

 

Hope you liked it! 

xoxo

 

WIP - #4 : Chace Crawford


	4. #4 : Chace Crawford

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of Sebastian’s unplanned revelation and the unexpected yet timely appearence of Prince Charming.

** Read the rest **

#1: [How I Met My Sergeant](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/28165590)

#2:[ A Little Personal Space Invasion Ain’t so Bad](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/28367022)

#3: [Trouble is you](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/28985778)

 

* * *

 

# **4**

 

“Wait. You were in a relationship with a _man_?”

Chris swore on anything that he didn’t mean to practically yelp in his reaction to Sebastian’s revelation but he doggone did.

“ ** _He_** was a state politician and I never knew what love is until I met **_him_**.”

Pretty sure no one can mess up ‘ _she_ ’ and ‘ _her_ ’ with ‘ _he_ ’ and ‘ _him_ ’ horribly like that, right?

At the other end of their living room, Sebastian fell quiet as he chewed on the insides of his cheeks. Chris could tell that he did not plan to let that slip out of him from the way he had his eyes stuck to the ground for a long time after that.

The awkward silence that wedged itself between them was turning nuclear the more Chris Evans stood blinking at him like a goddamn tree frog.

_So...He was with a man and you don’t have a hearing problem._

It didn’t last long, though. Sebastian brought his chin up, his darkened blues back to meeting Chris’. He drew in a deep breath and kept his cool - there was no point in trying to twist his way out of this one. No way could Chris unhear what he just heard.

And so he went, “Yes, my ex was a man.”

Christ. “Was it a one-time thing or…”

“I’m _gay_ , Chris.”

_Right. Of course. Duh! He didn’t need to fucking point that out to you, you stupid fuck._

Chris seemed to require more time for this to fully register and then settle into his system. He was prepared for Sebastian to be involved in some kind of corporate espionage at most. After all, the guy believed in a lot of rights - for humans, animals. Heck, even trees - Chris was sure he ever stepped on gigantic toes to stand up for all things justice and equality. A gag order for that would be logical.

He wasn’t expecting someone to slap a lawsuit on him for _falling in love_. That must have been _mega fucking messed up_ level depressing, no shit.

“Is this going to be an issue between us?”

“Huh?”

That came out of nowhere and judging from the tone used, Sebastian had gotten the young CEO’s less-than-ecstatic reaction to his confession all wrong.

And he wasn’t fast enough to deny that before the photographer fired his next shot with, “now that you know what I am, are you gonna have a problem with me living with you now, Evans?”

“What?” Chris huffed, turning defensive. He didn’t like how the guy was accusing him of something he wasn’t even thinking about in the first place.

“No, of course not! It’s not even about that, Seb.”

“Then what’s with the screaming?”

“I didn’t _scream_ ,” Chris argued, his eyebrows coming together in a tight knit. “I’m just…”

“Shocked?”

“Yes!”

“Appalled?”

Chris was starting to get immensely irritated at how Sebastian’s misunderstanding was coming hard at him. “Yes.”

“Hmph.” The roll of his eyes spoke death. “That’s disappointing. Coming from you.”

 _What the hell, this guy? He doesn’t even know what he’s talking about!_ “I mean by your attitude, Seb - I’m offended by it.”

“You’re offended by my _attitude_. Surely?”

“Okay, back it up.” The blonde was done. “Why would you even _think_ that I'd actually have a problem with you living with me? I just said I like having you around.”

The photographer didn’t say anything.

Chris tried again. “I’m just very surprised by it, that’s all, I swear. I had no idea at all! You could’ve told me.”

“Right.” His housemate snorted, ridiculed. “Because it would’ve been as easy as ‘Hi I’m Sebastian Stan and I prefer men ever since I could talk. ‘Nice cardigan, by the way! Love the man purse!’.”

He knew he shouldn’t but that impression made Chris throw his head back and laugh out really loud.

Sebastian didn’t get the joke. “What’s so funny?”

“Damn, son.” The blonde even wheezed a little. “You need to seriously can it with this whole _male PMS_ thing of yours, Sebastian.”

The brown-haired man rolled his eyes again.

“Look, you got it all wrong. Serious talk,” Chris then went, deciding to not agitate the drama king any longer. “I swear I only reacted the way I did earlier because it came out of nowhere. Also, I’ve never known anyone who’s…who is….uh...”

“Gay, Chris. It’s not difficult a difficult word to say.”

“ _Like you_.” Chris said. “You don’t even seem like it.”

Sebastian looked like he was was solving a riddle. “‘ _Seem like it’_. What do you think homosexuals are like? Enlighten me.”

 _Trick question alert!_ “I don’t know! Like, you don’t ever wear hot pink or purple...and I bet you hate Grey’s Anatomy with raging passion.”

“Drag queens and unicorns, too?”

Chris had to give an assuming shrug. “No offense.”

“Wow. You straight people are so typical - total _textbook contextual_ ,” Sebastian muttered, shaking his head like he lost all hope in humanity or something.

“Not all of us are into Ru Paul or ‘soft’. Some of us are real men - as in _standard issue as fuck real men_ real men. We just don’t prefer women, now what I mean? ‘Love’ between humans is not reserved for a hetero relationship anyway.”

 _Jesus_. “Oh, so there’s a _my_ and _your_ people now.”

“There’s always been that, Evans. It’s called the _new divide_ \- you’d be surprised how backwards and hostile your people are about my community, even at this age.”

The CEO was somewhat entertained. His housemate’s need to address a serious matter through a bitch fit was actually, dare he say, pretty darn adorable.

“Okay! Okay, you win,” Chris declared before taking his bow. “Jeez, Seb. Remind me to not piss you off. Now will you please take it down a notch?”

His crazy blue eyes were still burning through Chris’ skull like fire on paper, Christ.

“l mean it when I said we can be open to each other about anything and I promise that I am.”

It took a while for the photographer to see that he did overreacted (arguably, only a little bit). The scowl on his face eventually went away when Chris put his hands together like he was pleading for his life, causing the guy to let out an sheepish sigh.

“Sorry for coming down on you like that,” Sebastian said, tucking his long, long bangs behind his ears. His expression softened, apologetic for the fleeting attack on the other man.

“Automatic defense mechanism, I guess. I don’t want you, of all people, to think weird or bad of me. Or you know, become scared.”

“Scared? You’re gay - not a serial killer, Sebastian,” Chris scoffed. “And since when do you let people dictate who you are and how you feel?”

“I don’t care about others but I do care about what _you_ think of me.”

Chris cocked a brow, questioning.

Sebastian pulled a nervous smile. “There are things about you that makes it easier for me to move on from a really dark period in my life. The kind of heart and soul you have...I really like you, Chris - a lot. I’m honest to God thankful we met and I don’t want my being _different_ to change that.”

The blonde felt his heart jump a little, though. “Err…”

“Oh!” Sebastian’s face twisted into a panicked cringe when he realized what that came out like.

“No, not like _that_. I mean you’re handsome and hot and everything and I did have a _tiny_ crush on you for a while.”

“You did.”

“That ended when you made me put on make up for a kid’s party. From then on, sorry. Brozoned.”

“Brozoned!” The young CEO burst into laughter again. “Oh, for crying out loud, Seb - it was only eyeliner and it’s been eight goddamn months!”

 _Unbelievable, Christ._ “You, my friend, need to let it go already.”

“Easy for you to say, Captain Golf Pants.”

“You need to let _him_ go too, Sebby. Your ex.”

Sebastian’s smile faltered at his swift comeback.

“Chris. I seriously can’t discuss-“

“I don’t want the details.” The blonde stated before walking up to him to put a concerned hand on his housemate’s shoulder.

“I just want to tell you this: We’re in the same boat with our past loves, Seb. We are the ones suffering from their shit. Now whoever this guy is, he could have used the position and power he has to change the minds of society but instead, he chose to mistreat you.”

The photographer was quiet, listening with his eyes beginning to cloud over again.

“He doesn’t regret doing that but you gotta know that you’re his ultimate loss. Not the other way around.”

Sebastian wasn’t feeling it. “Mmmhmm.”

Chris let out a sigh. “Look. I really like you too. Best part about you is that I can talk to you about anything - the good, the bad, anything. It’s like I’ve known you forever! Maybe it’s also because I believe you’ll always get it somehow. You’ve this crazy, positive vibe and that’s become important to me. I wouldn’t have seen what Jenny was doing to me if you hadn’t snapped me out of it, for example.”

“Aww.” His housemate was moved. “That’s nice to know.”

“It’s true! I don’t care if you’re gay or wanna marry a tree or whatever. I just know that...anytime you need me too, Seb. I’m here for you. Okay?”

The toothy smile of his returned and it returned at full force. It was a simple act but on Sebastian, it could literally brighten up everything around him like the midday sun over a beautiful, empty beach.

He noticed something else, too. “Seb. Are you _blushing_?”

“I can’t take it, man. My knees have gone weak. That was one hellova speech,” Sebastian said, chuckling sheepishly.

”You make me feel so treasured. It’s nice. Damn it!”

“What now?”

He let out a groan. “It’s times like this that I honestly wish you were fucking gay, Chris Evans.”

“Really!” The blonde gave that an amused scoff.

“Keep on wishing then, Sebastian Stan.”

The photographer smirked.

“That, I may just do.”

 

* * *

 

 

Whoever said that going to the malls during typical office hours on a weekday is a great idea is obviously someone who hasn’t tried shopping in any of Beverly Hills’ infamous shopping districts.

The plan was so simple: Get off really early from work, head to the Nike store, purchase the new, eagerly-anticipated ‘Vipormax’ and get out.

They weren’t expecting to _line up_ for it, though. At this point, the young CEO wondered why in the bloody blue Hell didn’t he just wait for the hype to die down and then buy the trainers from the comfort of his couch.

 _Oh well_ , he thought. _Since we’re already here._

“I don’t know how I can workout for more than an hour each time at the gym but cannot for the life of me stand shopping on foot,” Sebastian complained, annoyed at the queue.

“I change my mind. I’m going back to work.”

“Come on,” Chris protested. “You said you’d accompany me for a bit. Besides, you wanted to check them out first.”

“I _did_. Look at where we are in this line, Evans - we’re gonna be here the whole day!”

“He’s got a point, Chris. Are you really going to queue up for shoes like a  _millennial_?”

Chris and Sebastian turned around at the sudden voice that came from behind them and when they did, it took the blonde less than a second to realize who it was.

“Oh my…Chace Crawford?”

The man threw open his arms. “In the flesh.”

Both men practically threw themselves at each other in a big, long hug, with Chris giving the other man a couple of big, welcoming slaps on his back. 

“Jesus, what a surprise! When did you get back? It’s great to see you again, bro.”

“Great to see you again, too! Oh, last night actually,” the man replied, breaking away only to reach his hands out and squeeze Chris by the shoulders.

“Oh, wow. I leave you for a few years and this happened! What fitness cult did you sell your soul to? Lookin’ so goddamn jacked.”

“Some things do change in boring side of LA, you know,” Chris said, chuckling. According to this guy and for whatever nonsense he believed in, Venice was just that.

As if his super classy, gated as Hell hilltop neighbourhood was party rock. Pfft.

“I must say, I dig the new look very much,” Chace went, throwing a cheeky wink at the size of Chris’ chest. “I’d love to test drive a car on that.”

“Thanks,” Chris chuckled, flattered to Hell. “You look good, too. Didn’t age a single bit and still with the awesome hair, I see.”

“This?” The man laughed, pointing to the medium wave above his forehead. “Well, it is, after all, my trademark. Listen man, I’m happy to see you again and would love to catch up with you but let’s do that another day. Over lunch, next week?”

The amount of shopping bags in his hands spoke serious retail therapy business. “Yeah, sure! Don’t wanna interrupt your momentum. Are you still using the same number?”

“Yes. By the way, I’m done with shopping and I need to go soon but before I do, I’d like to introduce myself to your…”

He turned to Sebastian, the smile on his face widening a little more. “...friend? I hope.”

_He hopes?_

“Hello.” The brown-haired man replied, quick to extend his hand out. “Sebastian. Stan.”

“Hi.” He gave Sebastian's hand a firm shake. “I’m Chace. Crawford. You already know that. So...friends?”

Chris nodded. “New housemate.”

“Temporarily.” Sebastian smiled. “I just moved in from New York earlier this year.”

“New York. I love New York.” The other man drawled, the brightness of his smile blinding.

“And new housemate too, huh? Ain’t you a lucky guy, Christopher.”

This teasing, sing-song tone of his got Chris so lost.  _What does he mean by ‘lucky me’?_

And then he saw it - the sparks that popped up in the air between them. Only then that Chris realized that the two men were holding that handshake a little too long.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Sebastian.”

Also, this _look_ Chace was giving the other man. Sebastian’s face was turning pink real fast as he responded with a shy, “likewise.”

_Wait a minute. Oh?_

That was when things took quite an unexpected turn.

“I know this is abrupt but I’m attending a movie premier and I’m short of a date,” Chace suddenly said, still looking at Sebastian like nothing else existed in his view.

“Would you do the honor of accompanying me to a night of tinseltown glamour this Saturday?”

Chris eyebrows jumped up his forehead. His housemate’s reception was a heck lot slower, though.

“Excuse me?” Sebastian responded, blinking when it finally hit him. “What did you say?”

“I’m short of a date this Saturday, Sebastian. I’d like it if you’d go to the premier of Jones’ Notebook with me.”

“Oh. Err…”

Just like that, the tan on Sebastian’s skin failed miserably to hide the flood of red spreading all over his face at the sudden proposal. His eyes darted to Chris, as if signalling for help of some sort but his housemate too, looked like he was choking on air.

In front of him, Chace was waiting for an answer. Sebastian took a breath and another second to come back with a diplomatic reply.

“I need to check if the editorial is fine to go on without me this weekend.”

“You work with the paper?”

“I’d like to think it’s more to anything lifestyle-related.”

“Sounds like a dream job.”

“So far, so good. Anyway, about the invite.”

“ _Invite_?” Chace chuckled. “You’re so cute.”

_Oh my…!_

“Uh...Yeah,” Sebastian grinned, flattered. “I’m handling an important client at the moment so I need to work with his team and everything so....”

“No problem.” The man’s smile stretched. “Give me your phone and I’ll punch in my number.”

Chris was impressed at how fast Chace worked. Sebastian got his phone back and before he could even look at it, Chace went, “I’ve a better idea - you like sushi?”

“I love sushi.”

“Good. You can come back to me about this Saturday over dinner at Nobu, tonight. Seven’s good, I suppose?”

_Okay that is smooth as Hell. Just straight to it._

“Forgive me if I’m being forward - I can’t help it sometimes.”

With not the slightest bit of modesty meant at all. _Look at that_.

“Well….” His housemate was drowning from Chace’s persistence. “It’s not a bad thing.”

“Good, because I’d like to put the blame on your eyes - they’re simply breathtaking, Sebastian.”

That made the photographer grin so wide, his skull would have cracked into pieces.

In all honesty, this would have been very cringe-worthy if Chris was not starting to enjoy the entire show. Never the fuck mind that he was just a silent, non-existent lamppost between the two.

“Thanks. Uhm...Yeah, so uh…” Sebastian’s face turned even redder. “I’m sorry. Kinda speechless right now.”

“I really hope you can say something good about tonight.” Chace proceeded to reel his catch in with, “Shall I pick you up at six thirty?”

“You know where I live.”

“Yes, because I know where this handsome fella lives,” Chace went, suddenly dragging Chris back into the picture.

“Lovely pad, by the way. The view from your balcony, especially!”

Chris had to laugh. This was because Chace never said something like that before - both the handsome part as well as the sudden praise for his property. But alas, it was not the right time to throw this guy over the glorious Venice waves for this.

Well, not yet anyway. “Thanks, man.”

“Uh huh.” Chace went back to his main focus immediately. “Where were we?”

“Six-thirty. You’re picking me up for sushi?”

“Great.” Chace’s smile stretched to Hell. “I’m really looking forward to it, Sebastian.”

_Aaaaand now, a moment for heart eyes….Heart eyes…._

“Me too.”

_Another moment for sparkly heart eyes…._

Chris decided to clear his throat, bringing everyone back to earth when he did. It did take another solid minute for Chace to take his eyes off Sebastian, though. He looked smitten silly, it was both strange and amusing.

 _Damn. We have so much to talk about come the next beer night._ “So Crawford! Anything here that’s worth the cardio?”

“Yes! Unbelievable drop downs on Ralph Lauren especially,” Chace sang, turning to Chris and holding up his purchases.

“They’re closing down this outlet so everything’s going at sixty, seventy percent off? I suggest you get out of this line. Whatever you want are still gonna be there the next week or month anyway, no?”

Chris frowned, defeated. “Makes sense.”

”Obviously! Ah, I have to rush into a quick meeting before our date.”

He gave Sebastian a wink. “I’ll see you later.”

“Later.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

He was well out of earshot before Chris turned to Sebastian to see him staring at the back of the young entrepreneur's head so hard. It looked like a monster truck just hit him right in the face. Twice.

Or rather, five _billion_ times.

“What just happened?” Sebastian breathed out when he snapped out of his awe.

“Chace Crawford happened.”

“Who?”

“One of my good buddies, also one of my core business partners. I work with his company for most of the facilities and machines in the hospital,” Chris replied, still blown away by such a performance from the guy.

“How come I’ve never known of his existence until today?”

“That’s because he’s been living in London for the past few years. New expansion. His main marketing team still run his business in the US. You okay, Seb?”

“Chris.” That bag of bricks finally hit Sebastian and it hit him goddamn hard. “Did I just agree to a date tonight?”

“Yes.”

“And a movie premier on Saturday.”

“All you,” Chris replied, snickering a little. “Although I find it surprising that…”

“What?”

Chris knew Chace forever and one thing was for sure: the native Californian had always been straighter than the lines on his classy ass designer slacks. To just witness him asking another guy out so naturally like that was…

...Since when was Chace ever interested in _men_?

“Chris. What?”

The young CEO decided to keep an open mind about it in the end. People change. Different fields to conquer. It wasn’t his place to say anything anyway. “Never mind.”

Next to him, his housemate was still reeling from what went down. “So I just agreed to _two dates_ this week with the _same guy_.”

“Guess you fell hard for his charm. He just swept you away, just like that. I was amazed too! He wasn’t like that before, if you must know. So fascinating.”

His housemate paled over. “Oh my God.”

Chris decided to be of more practical help. “So! We’ve another good reason to be in this place, thanks to your date tonight.”

Sebastian grunted. “Why are _you_ so excited?”

“Because you’re going out with one of the greatest guys I know on this planet - I’m excited for the both of you.”

“Yeah, I still don’t know how that happened! I’m not sure if it’s a great idea now.”

“You don’t want this to be like some sort of a rebound or something?”

Sebastian rolled his tongue with a shrug.

“Well...you’ll never find out anything new if you don’t give yourself a chance with this guy, Seb. Isn’t that what dating is all about?”

“You’re schooling me about going back into the dating scene? That’s gold.” The photographer snickered.

“Your wingman game is damn obvious, by the way.”

Chris rolled his eyes at the earlier jab. “I’ll tell you this: Chace is a really genuine person. I think you’re gonna like him a lot but you gotta  do the rest on your own.”

“Okay then. Just going on a couple of dates anyway, right? Harmless.”

“Completely.”

“Hey. Maybe you can help me with the Saturday part. I’ve never been on a freaking red carpet before - especially not as someone’s date. All cameras will be on me and everything. I need to look motherfucking dashing. Let’s go get me a suit.”

Sebastian looked around and spotted a tailor boutique nearby. “I’ll get one in there. Come on!”

“Wait, wait.” Chris had a much better idea. It came to him like pop. “Calm down. I think I have this velvet blue number that you can wear with a white shirt underneath. Double lapels. It’s from...Hugo Boss. I think.”

“You’re just gonna _lend_ me your Boss.”

“Actually, I haven’t worn it yet.”

Sebastian gawked. “So it’s a _brand new_ Boss suit.”

“I don’t really get to dress up to my nines with everything that’s been happening at the hospital,” Chris went, sighing at the lack of his involvement in the recent social functions he was invited to. He would have loved to attend every single one if work hadn’t been a priority.

“Besides I have a whole closet full of suits. It’s no big deal. Instead of spending so much for just one premier, just borrow mine!”

“You’re like, my fairy god father,” Sebastian sang, breaking into a relieved smile. “But will it fit me? You’re massive, Evans.”

“What are you talking about? You’re about my size, Sebastian. It’ll fit you fine.”

“For real? Thank you.”

 _Those sparkles in his eyes, seriously_. Chris laughed. “Alright, alright. So Saturday’s done. Now let’s focus on tonight. What’s your plan? You have less than 4 hours.”

“I’m a _guy_ so I can pretty much pull off anything with a leather jacket or a simple-”

“Stop right there,” Chris interrupted, blinking at him in utter disbelief. “No way.”

“No way what?”

“This is _Nobu_ , Sebastian - not a bed and breakfast inn for biker gangs. Leather jacket Seriously. What you wear matters in a place like that - you could use some of that uptown class act style. I insist to assist.”

“I feel offended by your lack of faith in my fashion choices.”

Chris’ overly excited slap on his back almost shifted his liver, not that he blonde cared.

“Exactly. So I’m making you my mission, Seb - first stop, Ralph Lauren.”

“Wait. What about the Nikes?”

“Nah. That can wait. Let’s go!”

 

* * *

 

 

 

Saturday was a big day for Sebastian. Chris had given him the suit days before but it was only in the next few seconds that he would get to see what his Boss would look like on his housemate.

“I wanted to cut my hair but I still like it long…”

Chris turned around at the sound of Sebastian coming out of his room. He had expected that his friend would look really good in Hugo Boss simply because he would but he didn’t expect _it to be mind-blowing is that even legit fucking good-_ good.

He walked into the light of the living area.

“Anyway. So! How do I look?”

That was when strange things started happening.

Something big shifted in the air - everything around the man who was moving for him gradually began to flake away at first. Sebastian was walking in slow motion all of a sudden, coming into a really sharp focus in the viewfinder of his sight. The very first thing that stole Chris’ complete attention was _those_ eyes - it was almost ridiculous how piercing blue they were.

The first word that came to his mind was ‘ _wow_ ’.

Sebastian didn’t seem to realize what was going on with Chris. He was more concerned with something on his neck.

“Think I’m just gonna go with this. Good?”

Chris realized that he had practically stopped breathing for a second too - as if stunned stupid. Sebastian pulled an embarrassed smile upon noticing that the blonde was staring at him the way he was.

“Chris. Bowtie - yay or nay?”

He wanted to respond to the bow tie matter but couldn’t exactly speak - the young CEO swore on anything that giving compliments to people was so damn easy before.

“O-kay…” Sebastian was smug. “I take it that I look hella good.”

_You look hella perfect._

“Yeah.” The taller man’s voice box finally returned with an approving nod. He chose his next words wisely, though.

“The suit looks great on you, Seb.”

“Really?” Sebastian turned sheepish. “Not too big around this area?”

The blonde took another minute to take it all in - the whole sharp nose, strong jaw thing with the guy. His deep set eyes. Sebastian’s naturally tousled hair was tamed, combed back and tucked behind his ears, the ends falling behind them to touch his shoulders. He shaved but it wasn’t clean cut so the rugged nature of his light stubble added a little edge to put everything together into this nomadic gentleman-ish kind of image. Hugo Boss suit fitted him like a glove, hugging those broad shoulders and his lean-built silhouette very, very well. It was like it was made for him.

Those polka dot socks, though. Gotta have some spunk to anything, this guy. Pure win.

But those piercing blues.

_Damn. What a beautiful man._

Sebastian’s groan brought him out of his bubble.

“Evans, please tell me I look arm-candy worthy for a terribly handsome young man.”

He was biting the inside of his cheeks, anxious as Hell. “If not, I’m so going back to the mall right now-”

 _As if he has the goddamn time, really._ “Seb.”

“Yes?”

Chris couldn’t think straight, it was seriously weird. So what eventually came out of him was, “you look absolutely…. _Marvelous_.”

Sebastian’s laughter came in decibels.

“Marvelous!” He was highly amused. “Right. When’s tea gonna be served then, Queen of England?”

Chris was done. “You look really good, Sebby. I mean to say that but…”

“But?”

Just like that, Sebastian went into panic mode again. “But what? But I should wear a tie. Tie is better, yes?”

“No, Seb. Leave the bowtie on.”

“Why did you say _but_?”

“Jesus. Forget about that. May I?”

Chris’ hands reached out to adjust the bowtie next, his senses greeted by a fresh, woody vanilla scent as he stood in front of his housemate. He kept his sight fixated on the silly piece of accessory and Chris felt that he only forced himself to do that because he couldn’t look at the other man directly in the eyes.

For what reason, the blonde didn’t exactly know.A bowtie ain’t a complicated thing to fix.

“You’re not eye candy, Sebastian. An eye candy is some brainless bimbo with a pretty face. A mindless trophy. You’re not that.”

Sebastian’s shoulders began to relax a little more.

“What I’m trying to say is, Chace Crawford will be very proud to have you by his side tonight. Also knowing you, I bet everyone there’s going to enjoy your presence.”

The other man’s blue as Hell eyes sparkled, touched to Hell. “You know when I was with my ex, we didn’t even go out to the balcony? He wanted to keep me a secret _that_ bad-”

“Hey! Stop that,” Chris cut in, interrupting Sebastian to bring him back to Earth.

“No more thinking about the ex - you have one job and that’s to enjoy the night. _Kepish_?”

“Roger that, Captain.” His grin returned. “And I’ll take extra care of this suit, I promise.”

“ _Captain_ ,” Chris chuckled, picking a lint off the other man’s shoulder. He caught himself before those eyes could cause another internal glitch and nodded.

“You better. Or you’re downing me three month’s worth of rent - that’s only the interest.”

“Wait. You _voluntarily_ lent it to me.”

“I’m kidding, Seb,” Chris went, rolling his eyes a little. “Loosen up, will you? It’s just a short walk down the carpet.”

“You been to one of these.”

“I’ve been to some star-studded charity dinner and galas. Sure, it’s a little overwhelming,” the blonde replied, reminiscing the time when he had time to do that.

“If you see the cameras pointing at you, just smile and wave.”

Sebastian seemed to be standing a Hell lot closer all of a sudden. His eyelashes were really long and full, framing his eyes perfectly, top and bottom. The wrinkles that appeared at their corners whenever he smiled made him look all the more dashing.

His lips were thin, but full in the middle. A rosebud - the shape of Sebastian’s mouth reminded the CEO of a pink, velvety rosebud.

Chris realized that he didn’t notice these details until they were standing this close together. “Uh huh. Like the penguins in Madagascar.”

“Got it,” Sebastian nodded. “Penguins.”

_Ding dong!_

“Ah!” Sebastian’s face lit the fuck up. “He’s here! So! Okay. No changes, right? Hair, suit, shoes all on point?”

“Yup,” Chris gave him a thumbs up. “Perfect.”

Practically ran for the door next. Sebastian opened it to be greeted by a blinding smile and then a single stalk of red rose.

Chris folded his arms, smirking at his business partner like _look at you. Showing up at my doorstep like The Bachelor ready to sweep hearts away._

Chace probably didn’t realize (or care) that Chris was standing behind Sebastian. He was too busy breathing out his awe with a less than subtle, “Wow.”

Just like that, Sebastian was a puddle of goo. “Hi.”

“Wait a minute. Think I got the wrong address...”

_And here we go._

“Sorry?”

“I came here believing that I’m about to pick up a very handsome young man.”

The flower was extended to the intended party.

“Should have brought a hundred of these if I’d known I’d be standing before a stunningly beautiful one.”

_And...a 1000 points in!_

Next to him, Sebastian was already floating 5 feet from the ground when he took the rose. The smile on his face, no words to describe it. Chris was definitely void of existence in this picture.

“Ready?”

“Yes!” Sebastian sang, excited as Hell. “Oh, I should put this in water. Give me a sec. You wanna wait inside?”

“Nah I’m good here. Go on.” He turned to the blonde next when his date went to care for his gift. “Hey Chris.”

 _Oh_ now _I exist._ “Hey, man. Lookin’ like a baller.”

“Thanks,” Chace said, but his smile suddenly showed no form of chill the second Sebastian was out of their sight.

He started fidgeting with his lapels. “Tell me honestly: Was it too much earlier?”

“What, you mean the whole Agent double O seven charm?”

Chace let out a small groan. “Oh God, it was too much.”

“Oh and also, your make up’s melting.”

“Very funny, Evans,” Chace deadpanned.

“Damn it. I thought the second date would be a whole lot easier but now I think I can’t function well tonight. Not when he’s looking like that. He’s so…so…I don’t know how to describe it.”

“Beautiful? Takes your breath away? Everything slows down around him when he moves?”

_Wait. What, Chris?_

“Yes! Exactly,” Chace practically squeaked. “God must have spent a little more time creating Sebastian Stan, that’s for sure. It’s making me so damn nervous.”

_Right down to every damn detail, he did._

“Look, man.” Chris was amused by the businessman’s unbridled fawning over his housemate.

“You look great, he looks great and tonight’s gonna be great. Seb’s pretty excited and nervous too - if that’s any helpful.”

The man wasn’t convinced.

“There’s a carpet burn in his room from all that pacing, I can tell you that,” Chris assured, getting his good friend to lighten up and laugh a little.

“I think you two look really cute together.”

Chace was beaming. “I think so too. Okay, he’s returning.”

”Stay calm, Crawford. You got this.”

”Amen.”

The rose found its special place in a soda bottle on the kitchen counter. Chris gave Chace a slap on the chest like good luck, buddy when he saw Sebastian coming back to them and made his way for the living room.

He was walking past his housemate when Sebastian stopped to ask, “What about you? What are your plans tonight?”

 _He really needs to stop it with those eyes._ “Stay indoors. Netflix. Look at some paperwork. Adopt a dog.”

The brown-haired man’s handsome face fell so flat at the last one. “Please don’t do anything stupid till I come back, Evans.”

“Pssh,” Chris smirked, motioning to a waiting Chace Crawford at the door.

“How can I? You took all the stupid with you.”

“Ah-ah. Too late to be jealous now, punk.”

“Jerk,” Chris laughed. “Have fun, Sebastian.”

His smile was the size of Jupiter. “Thanks.”

“For?”

“This suit. That guy. Everything.”

“Wow.” Chris was surprised by Sebastian’s gratitude. “ _Everything_ , huh?”

“Yup. Okay! I’ll see you later.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t wait up for you.”

“Shut up.” The photographer rolled his eyes.

“Toodles!”

He was looking out of his kitchen window next, to Chace’s red Porsche parked at the visitor’s lot downstairs. A minute later, he was watching his good friend opening its passenger door for Sebastian to get in. They appeared to be in high spirits, laughing with the distance between them seemingly shrinking at every step they took. The chemistry was simply electrifying, Chris could practically feel it from where he was.

_Looks like love could just be in the works!_

He watched on until they got into the vehicle drove off into the night, probably accompanied by the music of Michael Bolton because Chace loved that guy to Hell.

_Guess you did a great job, Cupid._

Little did he know that matchmaking Sebastian Stan with one of the greatest guys he knew on Earth would bring about Chris Evans a kind of emotional chaos he wasn’t quite ready for.

 

—

 

WIP : #5

 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!


	5. #5: Psychology be Damned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting a psych eval on his first date since forever was something he didn't expect to happen but it did, and boy, did things get messy from there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Terribly sorry for the late update - life got in the way, big time.  
> Thanks for the patience and hope you'll like this chapter!
> 
> #6 is a WIP :)

** Read the rest **

#1: [How I Met My Sergeant](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/28165590)

#2:[ A Little Personal Space Invasion Ain’t so Bad](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/28367022)

#3: [Trouble is you](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/28985778)

 #4: [Chace Crawford](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/29260248)

 

* * *

 

 

**#5**

 

Chris Evans wasn’t a difficult person to drag out of his office or bed but if given a choice, he would rather catch up on much-needed sleep and rest than go out and socialize these days.

This year however, the young CEO of Christopher’s Haven Hospital for Children found himself standing in front of the open doors of his closet, about to pick out an outfit to go to his friend’s New Year’s countdown party later in the same evening. Not only that, he was going to have a date for it - thanks to Sebastian, of course.

According to the photographer, he recently got to know someone who would be great for Chris to get to know. Her name was Hayley Atwell, she was from England, residing in Bel Air and she was a model.

“You got a model to be interested in me. A model. Are you for real?”

“Yes and she’s very, very excited to meet you.”

Most guys would jump at the chance but the blonde wasn’t sure if anyone from the crazy fun world of entertainment and fashion industry would be want to be in the same room with someone like him. He wasn’t door knob boring or anything but something about it felt a lot like mixing oil and water.

He had questions. “What did you tell her about me?”

Sebastian’s lopsided smile had a little playfulness to it. “Only the good stuff.”

Unfortunately, he was neither stupid nor self-involved in any way but “you showed her that picture of me, didn’t you? The one when I was just in my towel.”

The other man bit the inside of his cheeks. Caught. “Well…”

Okay, so he was feeling his hard-earned abs way too much that night. The lighting was great for a shot but “that was supposed to be private and you said you’d delete it from your phone.”

“You know what? Until today, I still can’t place the word “awkwardly shy” with that face and body of yours,” he stated, as-a-matter-of-factly and everything in his opinion of the matter.

“So she liked what she saw.”

“Yeah. And so much for the _good stuff_ ,” Chris scoffed. “Can I give it a miss? I’ve other plans, actually.”

“Really? You’re only telling me that now.” Sebastian folded his arms and cocked his head to one side, disbelieving. “Okay. What are they? Does it have to do with sitting behind Mount Paperwork?”

 _Mount Paperwork, the Hell_ but lying was not his forte, even if he paid himself to. “Er…”

His housemate was done. “Malibu Pier, five ‘o’ clock. We’re walking over to Chace’s place from there. He’s got this little bonfire party going on at his Amarillo home and there’ll be games and dancing and whatever until the countdown begins. Okay?”

He was 35-years-old but he was going to goddamn whine if he wanted to. “Why are you so persistent ? Doesn’t mean you’ve started dating again, I’ve to meet someone and do that too.”

“Oh, _au contraire_ , mon frère! You totally do.”

Sebastian’s snort was so majestic, it almost offended Chris on a very personal scale.

“Come on, man. She’s gorgeous and not a total airhead - she’s smart. Like, really smart,” he then went, smart to coax the blonde into the idea before Chris could completely flip it out the window.

“Okay! Hayley’s like, the female version of you - almost. It’ll be fun if not interesting. Don’t overthink it, it’s just a date. I mean when was the last time you went on one anyway?”

He wasn’t sure if meeting another version of himself was a great idea too but it was going to be what it was: after three whole years of being single and making work = life > everything else, he was going to a party with a hot stranger because his housemate said he totally should.

“What are you? The dating prophet now?”

Bounced off the other man like nothing, of course. “Yes, yes I am. So do me a favour and don’t overthink things - just come as the hot stuff that you are and all will be well.”

“Hot stuff?” The blonde grinned, feeling sheepish by it. “Did she call me that or was that you?”

“Christopher Evans!” His housemate groaned, rolling his eyes hard like _so damn done_ . “Do _not_ overthink. Okay?”

_Fine, then._

_Let’s get this party started._

 

* * *

 

 

The New Year’s eve celebration at the infamous beach was already drawing large number of party-goers onto its shoreline even before the sun had begun to set. Chris was so glad that he managed to work up a pump at the gym earlier in the day because it was definitely screaming ‘battle of the beach bods’ where he was at - Malibu is serious sexy business like that. Those who come to play at this side of LA is always ready to slay and that evening was no different.

He was quick to spot Chace at the entrance of the Pier, standing next to a makeshift stall that was selling beverages and ice cones, his arm linked with a woman’s, laughing at something she just said into his ear. Thick, chestnut brown hair, smiling eyes, brilliant smile, snow white skin - Hayley Atwell was, as described by yours truly, drop dead gorgeous.

But there was one serious problem - he couldn’t keep his attention on her.

Instead, Chris’ focus was drawn to a pair of very blue eyes that came into the viewfinder of his sight from seemingly out of nowhere, only to stand out like gleaming sapphires among the sea of interchangeable faces. They caught him swimming through the crowd and all of a sudden, time slowed down. Chris felt himself moving without really taking any steps, as if the ground beneath his feet had shifted to the sensation that fluttered in his stomach.

The first word that came to his mind was _wow._

They exchanged smiles and just like that, everything else around Chris was reduced into a colorful, moving blur. Once again, he was struck with awe - and it was at that very moment that Chris Evans had to question himself whether he’d really lost a screw somewhere for thinking that Sebastian Stan was the most beautiful person in the entire place right then, bar none.

_Why is this happening again?_

The Universe had a lousy way of putting him in some kind of lapse in its time because he didn’t get to process what just hit him. Sebastian was suddenly standing before him, drink in one hand and waving the other in front of his face with, “Hello?”

Maybe he was imagining it but he was standing a little too close for comfort. The brown-haired man was practically leaning against his chest and looking up at him like Chris was a whole foot taller (an inch did make a lot of difference) with _those_ eyes. So freaking blue, they were surreal. Practically magical, Hell.

The CEO couldn’t respond, it was motherfucking strange. When he finally did, Chris felt like he was crashing back to Earth at breakneck speed, only to mess up in his landing by squeaking out a very embarrassing, very choked-up, “oh. Hey. Hi, Seb!”

_Oh my God. What the Hell, seriously. What the Hell?_

“Hi,” the photographer went, appearing to be a little confused with something. “Are you okay, man?”

Because the music was too loud, the distance between the two of them had to shrink to enable optimum communication. That was what logic told Chris. Nevertheless, a forming knot in his throat was threatening the (slightly) older man into further speechlessness. Chris was quick to snap out of it this time, thankfully.

Overlooked the fact that he sounded like a goddamn dolphin, too. “I’m good! So sorry I’m late.”

Maybe Sebastian noticed. Maybe he didn’t. He didn’t tease him about it and instead said, “no kidding. We’ve been waiting for you since yesterday! Did you get my texts?”

 _Yesterday, Christ._ He chuckled at the over dramatisation of his lateness. “I did. I was driving.”

He could have taken a step back had he felt weirded out by the severe lack of distance between them but he honestly wasn’t, so he didn’t. They’d been housemates for almost a year and personal boundaries were crossed many, many times - space invasion was normal.

The only thing that was starting to get to Chris was Sebastian smelling like woody-vanilla and lime and tequila and _so fucking good_.

Come to think of it, he’d always smelled so fucking good. “Parking was Hell, should’ve Uber-ed down instead. And then this crowd! Crazy.”

“Yeah but you _smiled_ right at me,” Sebastian went, questioning that with a brow raised. “And then you sort of spaced out. I waved and you just stared like you didn’t see me or something. It was very weird.”

 _Yeah, it goddamn was._ “Well, you’ve this new haircut and everything - I had to do a double take. You look totally different, I almost couldn’t recognise you earlier.”

_What do you know? You just told a lie with a straight face, Evans. Achievement unlocked!_

“Really?” His housemate was suddenly smug as Hell. “I loved it so much but it was a bitch to care for over time so…” He made a chopping action in the air with his hand. “...Off it goes.”

It was an image straight out of a magazine: Sebastian had traded his shampoo advertisement worthy long hair for a sleek, medium pompadour with a sexy undercut to boot. He coupled it with a neat, light stubble on his perfectly crafted jawline and... _damn, son._

Why his guy chose to be _behind_ the camera instead of in front of one was a mystery. And Chris should really stop staring, but _damn, son._ “That’s a mean fade. Which salon did you go to?”

“One of the hairstylists I worked with did it for me this morning. It looks like a lot of blow drying effort to get some volume up here but it’s really low maintenance.”

He could really talk about hair, this guy. “So…no more of that swish-swish thing it does whenever you walk or run. I think I’ll miss that the most. Were you emotional?”

“When she hacked it off? A little,” Sebastian laughed and then ran a hand through the top part of his hair, setting it into place like there was ever a strand gone rogue.

“But the history with it has got to go,” he sighed, determined. “And this can still do that. Not much of the swish-swish but it bounces!”

_Has he always been this adorable?_

“Nice. So!” Chris was quick to calibrate himself from another potential malfunction from looking too long into _those_ eyes. “That’s one way to welcome the new year, huh? New year, new hair.”

“Yeah.” His housemate agreed. “Very mainstream for me but, yeah. New year, new hair, new me, new life, hopefully a new house…”

 _He’d been hunting for one forever, alright_. “Speaking of, you know that you can stay with me for as long as you….are paying rent, right?”

“I _know_! But I overstayed my welcome. I need to get out of your home and have my own place. If I wasn’t so freakin’ busy, I would’ve gotten that cute little townhouse up at Sunnywood.”

“Nonsense,” the blonde snorted, ridiculed. “Didn’t think I ever told you this but I was a little anal with my personal space until you moved in. My first time renting out one of my rooms and I got you for a tenant - you’re like, a total blessing.”

The cheeky roll of Sebastian’s tongue between his lips was habitual but it never really interested the blonde so much until then. “Blessing, huh?”

Chris hadn’t started drinking yet but he was feeling very good. Whatever that was dancing in his stomach doubled upon seeing Sebastian’s smile widening at what he said. “What is it, Seb?”

He was straight-faced with it. “Are you flirting with me? Please tell me you are because that’ll mean all my dreams are coming true.”

“What? No.” Chris laughed, tickled pink. He could be playful, too. “I didn’t know I’m the man of your dreams, though.”

“Oh, wow!” Sebastian’s eyes rounded, gleeful and giggling uncontrollably. “That’s real smooth, Evans. You get brownie points for that one. But seriously, though - stop it. I don’t wanna get into trouble because of you.”

Chris smirked. “What kind of trouble?”

“Serious enough trouble.”

“Really? Okay. Sorry, I’m so hard to resist.” He grinned. “Anyway, yeah. You don’t have to be in a hurry to move out or anything, Seb. I’ve gotten used to having you around. I appreciate your being in my space, so don’t ever think otherwise.”

His face was already red from the alcohol but Chris could tell he was blushing hard and fast. A huge grin broke on Sebastian’s face. “Sounds like you’ve a really soft spot for me. Don’t you? Just admit it.”

“Only because you’re always ahead when rental is due,” Chris smirked, playful in his comeback. “Also, the building management won’t let me keep a dog…”

“Hah!” He punched the CEO on the shoulder, roaring with laughter despite his annoyance. “You’re such a punk, you know that?”

“Sometimes you’re a jerk, so we’re even.”

“Fair enough. Anyway! Where was I?” Sebastian was back at his list. “Mmm. New car, maybe...Hm. What else?”

“What about ‘ _New boyfriend_ ’?”

Chace Crawford was suddenly in their zone with all of his pretty boy perfect brown hair and piercing, green eyes glory. Chris totally did not hear or see the guy coming at all but *poof* there he was, sliding up to the other man’s side and giving Chris a smile that, if he wasn’t already going bonkers and seeing things, had a lethal dose of _back away from the merchandise, bro._

 _”_ Hey babe.”

Sebastian’s face lit up. “Hey, you!”

Maybe his good friend was a ninja. Maybe Sebastian was all that Chris saw until that bubble was burst by that ninja. Him and his suave as Hell _hey_ _babe_ that turned the photographer into giggling, lovesick puddle of goo just like *snap fingers* that.

_Wait a minute. New boyfriend?_

And the _new boyfriend-slash-ninja_ went, “hey, Evans.”

They bumped shoulders in greeting. A solid friendship that spanned well over 10 years was no joke. “Hey, man.”

Next to the ninja was the drop dead gorgeous brunette and he only realized her existence when Sebastian voided his with Chace’s appearance. Not wanting to be any more rude, Chris quickly extended a hand out to her and locked her eyes to his smile.

“Hi. Hayley, right? Chris. Good to meet you.”

“Hi, Chris.” Her smile stretched when she shook his hand, friendly. “It’s very nice to meet you, too.”

From the corner of his eyes, Chris took note that his good friend had slipped his arm around Sebastian to hold him. Funny that the first word that came to Chris’ head was _territorial_.

The one with the snazzy hairstyle since the day he was born (possibly the legit truth) was looking back and forth between the CEO and his partner next, curious. “Didn’t know there’s a private party happening over here. We were waiting for you guys near the Pier.”

“Oh, no. We were just chatting and about to head over when you two popped up,” Sebastian drawled, licking his lips before pulling the young entrepreneur into his chest.

“And yes! How can I forget that I’ve got you now, sexy? Come here, you. Kiss me proper.”

_Oh. So this is what he meant by ‘serious enough trouble’._

The feeling in his stomach turned when they kissed, making him feel uneasy and even a little sick. He wasn’t uncomfortable because they were men and they gave zero flying fucks about their public display of affection - it’s just that Chris had no freaking idea that ‘they’ happened already. Sebastian didn’t update him on that.

Not that he had _expected_ to be clued in or anything. He knew they'd been dating for a while now but _wait. Why do I care anyway?_

The fireworks between the new couple were almost blinding, Christ. He returned to Hayley to see that she too, was mouthing a silent plea for _let’s get out of here_.

 _Thank God._ “Shall we?”

Chris’ decision to lead her away from them and towards the Pier was a smart one. Once on their own, he restarted their first date with an apologetic, “sorry to have kept you waiting. I’m not usually like this. Parking was incredibly insane.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” she sang, understanding. Her accent was light on the ears, very pleasant. “I had trouble with that too. Should’ve known better than to drive down here.”

A gentle toss of her hair over her shoulder gave off a seductively light, floral scent. Her eyes were a piercing shade of sky blue but Chris couldn’t help thinking that he knew a more outstanding pair of stunners to put hers nowhere near breathtaking.

Which was so wrong because they belong to Sebastian Stan and _you fucking serious now, Evans? Why would you even think like that?_

Her voice sliced into his internal turmoil, bringing the CEO out and back to her zone again. “You're worth it but you’re still gonna have to make it up to me for making me wait, handsome.”

_Handsome._

The English model’s straightforwardness seemed to have struck him dumb with shyness for a second. Chris didn’t know he needed to put more effort in his warm up until Hayley moved from standing across him to standing next to him.

Her blood red lips curled into a coy smile. “I promise I won’t be difficult to please.”

From the distance, Chris could see that Sebastian was already in his own little world with his new boyfriend in his arms. The way his housemate looked at his good friend said it all - Chris hadn’t seen that kind of smile on Sebastian’s face before.

_That’s because you’re not Chace Crawford, Chris. Duh?_

Something within his ribcage dropped to the pit of his stomach and Chris suppressed a groan from exiting. Funny that he felt somewhat annoyed all of a sudden. By what, he couldn’t really point a finger to it. Wasn’t the right time goddamn to pick on details, too.

He turned away from the sight and brought all of his attention to who he really came for that day.

“I sure will, ma’am,” he said, charming. “How about I start by buying the lovely lady a drink?”

 

* * *

 

 

 

Sebastian was wrong - Hayley wasn’t smart. She was motherfucking intelligent and unfuckable with.

And in all honesty, Chris was having quite the experience talking to her as they walked on the sands of Malibu, taking their time in heading up to Chace’s property where the actual party would be at. The salty breeze of the ocean calmed his senses down to a zero, the sands between his toes making him feel at ease. It helped a lot that they connected - they were on the same thinking frequency most of the time and in practically every topic they’ve talked about, which was really, very nice.

However, it came to a point where the blonde couldn’t help feeling that he was, in fact, talking to himself. Only that _himself_ came in the form of a very sexy English woman with a double degree in psychology and neuro-linguistics who chose to live the catwalk life on fashion show runways all over the world because “why not?"

“ _‘Why not?_ ’” That had to be the biggest difference between him and her so far. Chris was awed by her choice. “You’ve a double major. I’m just amazed that you chose to do something completely...different.”

“I love studying people and everything but I’m not in love with the career aspect of listening to problems all the time. I tried it. It’s one of those jobs that just gets to you, emotionally. It’s unhealthy.”

He knew how that felt in some days at the office. “I see. So you chose to model. As simple as that?”

“Yes. I’d really rather be in love with a closet full of sponsored Louboutins, so…”

“Of course,” he laughed, tickled by her fast wit. “The jet-set lifestyle. So glamorous.”

“Uh-huh. And I’m truly a lot happier where I am right now than behind a mahogany desk in some glass office in a mental institution somewhere,” she giggled, throwing a hand up like _so damn nope_ to that mental image.

And then she went, “can I ask you what makes you happy, Chris?”

That scratched on the walls of his mind for a bit before Chris let out a thoughtful sigh. He couldn’t think about anything else but “Right now? Running the hospital. It’s not much of a job to me anyway. It’s more like...A duty. To serve.”

“Sounds like you have a higher purpose.”

“I believe so,” Chris nodded, swirling around the beer in his hand. “The _Haven_ gives me everything -  the highs and lows, I appreciate it all. Even the worst day at the office is worth it for those kids.”

And then she went, “other than that?”

He was clawing at his brains again.

"I mean...anyone?"

"Oh! No," Chris said, sighing. "Not at the moment. You?"

"Same here."

"Too shy or too scared?"

She laughed. "Honestly? Too busy."

Funny. That was what he answered Sebastian when the photographer asked, too. He was really on a date with _h_ _imself._ "Ditto that."

Eventually, he found the right thing to say to rid of the temporary silence that wedged itself in between them. “Being here and talking to you makes me happy.”

“Oh!” She tucked her wild brown curls behind her ear, beaming from flattery. “You just know when to keep it coming, don’t you?”

“I’m being honest,” Chris chuckled, amused that she wanted to think like that. “It really has been awhile since I had a conversation this long and this interesting with a woman. You’re gorgeous and brilliant. It’s refreshing. I’m having a good time with you, Hayley. I like it.”

“Thank you.” Her smile widened to the pink flush on her cheeks. “Yeah, I like it, too.”

Casually done. He knew a really smart woman like Hayley was not about to show him that she could easily be swayed by his charm (not that he had a hard time with her. Chris wouldn’t want to brag but he was naturally charming) but oh well, it wasn’t like they were getting married after that or anything. They were enjoying each other’s company so far, just walking by the seaside and talking the evening away.

No expectations, nothing serious, nothing heavy - only good vibes and harmless flirting.

_Yeah, so._

_Nothing crazy, too._

 

* * *

 

 

There was already a sizeable number of people by the time they arrived, most being mutual friends of Chris and Chace. The delicious smell of meaty grills filled the air from a nearby barbecue pit, manned by none other than the meatman himself James Corden (the guy was a professional, no shit), feel-good party music was blasting from portable speakers and drinks were readily available in big, blue cooler boxes by the pool or at the bar.

They didn’t need to go far. Two shot glasses materialized in their hands the moment they set foot into the grassy open area in front of Chace’s beachfront home, which was a short climb up the wooden stairs from the shoreline below it.

“Try this,” Sebastian urged, his smile brighter than day, even when the sun was already sinking into the distant waves of Amarillo Beach. In that gorgeous setting, the photographer seemed to be glowing in that white shirt.

And Chris didn’t know what was more messed up: him still thinking that Sebastian could seriously rock anything because he was crafted by the hands of God Himself, or the fact that his flimsy, barely buttoned up top of his was suddenly starting to bother him - a lot.

_God. Why the fuck does this keep happening?_

In front of him, the brown-haired man had no idea what he was thinking. He was beyond excited about the tiny milkshakes-ish drink he wanted them to try. Each of the glass was rimmed with rainbow sprinkles, the kind that you see on cupcake frostings and cakes.

“Tell me what you think.”

Without further question, the blonde knocked it back and swallowed everything in a single gulp. It looked good and tasted phenomenal, of course. Chocolatey, berry-tangy and plain _yum!_ “Is there Nutella in this?”

Sebastian was beaming already. “Yes! So. Yay or nay?”

 _Yay or nay_ seemed to be the decision making go-to in Sebastian’s choices most of the time, seriously. Chris wished he could apply that to some of the things in his life. _Meeting with the board of directors on Monday? Nay! Cancel that. Let’s go to Disney World instead, everybody. Yay!_

“This is so, _so_ good, Seb!” Hayley squealed, bringing Chris back to the circle he was in. “Anything with Nutella is good actually but this is definitely a yay, and a _more please, thank you_.”

“Great! Coming right up, beautiful. Chris?”

And Chris was thinking, Sebastian should really button up his shirt for crying out loud. Not that it would've made much difference because it was practically see through but so much of his exposed skin had such a nice, sun-kissed glow in this setting and it was fucking distracting _._

_Christ. This is getting way out of hands. You’ve seen him butt naked before and it never bothered you like this._

Where the blonde went to in his head, he had no idea. All he knew was that he came back to Sebastian’s “....hit the bar in a few hours’ time. Okay?” with a happier-than-usual sounding “you bet!” and then watched his housemate walk away - in goddamn slow motion - with his ridiculously appealing _collarbone_ scorched into the walls of Chris’ mind.

_Christ. Christ. Christ!_

_Why do I feel like coming to this party is a bad idea?_

“I wonder. What is it about him, Chris?”

Chris jumped when Hayley’s hand landed on his arm, snapping him out of his dream-like stupor. He turned to see the English woman gawking at him like she just found hidden national treasure that was gonna set her and the next 40 generations of her bloodline for life.

Why she was suddenly twittering up in his face with unbridled excitement, he didn’t know. He cocked a brow, lost. “I’m sorry?”

“Sebastian.” Her face was as straight as the lines on a road. “What is it about him that catches so much of your attention?”

 _What the fuck?_ “What are you talking about?”

“Chris, you can just be straight with me. Or not, apparently.”

 _Huh?_ “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Her smile then widened to the size of Nebraska, if not like Joker himself, with all the red on her lips. Chris didn’t know why he was bracing himself, but he did.

And she let him have it with, “you _fancy_ him, don’t you?”

That killed him. It felt like a bolt of lightning just struck him dead in the ass. He blinked really hard at her next, absolutely shocked by the model’s sudden and fleeting assumption. “Excuse me?!”

“Our friend over there. You have the hots for him.”

It came out from freaking nowhere and was escalating to a 100 real fast. “No, I don’t have the _hots_ for Sebastian.”

He tried to laugh it off, failing miserably when doing so. There was a skip in his heartbeat that broke a tiny sweat in his peace. “Where did you get that idea?”

“Chris, I’m literally an expert in reading body languages and neurolinguistics,” she stated proudly but also, deadpanning hard at his denial. Maybe he was too quick with it. Only because she jumped his ass with this bullshit. He became defensive, that’s all.

“I’m not offended if you do. I had my suspicions from the start of things but I came out to meet you anyway. Admittedly, I was hoping I was wrong.”

“Your _suspicions from the start of things_?” He blinked. “What suspicions?”

“This whole ‘just housemates’ with Sebastian Stan thing with you two. Chris,” she sighed. “Can’t fool me anymore. I _knew_ something was a little off from the way Seabass talks about you. Plus, that really provocative picture of you in his phone...."

 _Look at that. So he_ did _tell her about the good stuffs after all but_ “Whoa. Hold on a second!”

The air commas were just disturbing as Hell, damn it. “No one’s fooling anyone here - he _is_ my housemate. Okay, he’s officially my tenant and I’m his landlord but we became friends so I don’t see it that way anymore.”

“Uh-huh. So how close exactly are you guys?”

“I just said he’s my tenant and friend.”

Hayley’s scoff was mighty. “Come on. Seriously now. I told you, I can’t be offended if you two are...you know. Ever physical with each other. And by that I mean-”

“I know what you mean and no, we’re not!” He was very alarmed by this. “There’s nothing like that between us. He’s a _guy_ . _I’m_ a guy, Hayley. And please excuse my language but are you fucking serious right now?”

She was silenced for a moment, looking at Chris with this really thoughtful look on her face. The blonde was about to believe that he had convinced her out of her _delusions_ but that went to Hell when the English woman went, “but you look at him differently.”

“How can you tell?”

“I just _know_ , okay? It’s as if no one else exists in your view, Chris - that’s how obvious it is.”

He didn’t mean to squeak, but he did. “It is?!”

The smirk on her face screamed triumph. “I’m standing here right in front you but your eyes wander to him. Whenever he’s near, you turn...weak.”

_Weak!?_

“Okay! Hayley, you’re taking this way too far,” he grunted, immensely ridiculed by whatever she just said. In a drastic turn of events, the lovely Hayley Atwell was not so lovely anymore.

The CEO didn’t appreciate her tactless invasion into his head space. It was bad enough that he was having these _episodes_ in which he would become highly fascinated by Sebastian’s ridiculously blessed physicality. He told himself, a billion times by the way: Who wouldn’t, really?

Sebastian was beautiful. He was a fucking magnet and everybody knew. The kind of guy who gets all the hits from both men and women when he enters a room, that was him.

_Who wouldn’t be fascinated?!_

But what the English model was getting at was another level of _what the fuck_ altogether. “So again, does it matter that he’s a guy, Chris?”

“Yes, it does!” Chris scoffed, fighting against the debating voices in his head and putting his defense up higher for the woman he was with. This epic shit just hit the ceiling and he wasn’t going to have any of it anymore.

“I’m not like that. If I fancy him, I’d be asking _him_ out and not you. I wouldn’t agree to go on a date with you, Hayley. If I like him, why didn’t I do that?”

The woman remained calm despite his voice rising in frustration in her face. “It’s highly likely that the reason why you haven’t made your move is due to the fact that you haven’t fully come to terms with yourself.”

Joke of the Year, that one. “Christ.”

“But by the time you _do_ …”

He followed her eyes to see that she was looking at the new couple, who was talking to some people at the pool. His good friend was spoiling Sebastian rotten with affection and pride, showing him off like he was a trophy he won in competition and the man was loving it.

“Are you sure you’re not the slightest bit jealous of Chace Crawford, Chris?”

The photographer was inches above ground, head in the clouds, lost in Heaven. He radiated happiness and glee - after years of being someone’s secret in a toxic relationship, this was it. Chace was how Sebastian’s broken heart was going to be fixed.

_And you made them happen._

_So you can’t be fucking kidding yourself, Chris._

_Chris?_

He spun away and let out an audible, disbelieving groan into the wide open sea before him. His shoulders dropped in exasperation to what this fun date had just turned into - a goddamn psychological terrorism of a mess.

“This is madness. You’re ruining my mood right now, by the way.”

“I mean no offense, trouble or disrespect, Christopher. If anything, I’m only being helpful.”

 _How thoughtful._ “Thanks, Hayley. I so needed this. A psych eval on my first date.”

His sarcasm was met with her soft sigh. “It’s best that you know what your deal is - it also helps that you accept the most important thing out of this.”

“And what is that, Hayley?”

“That you’re a little too late.”

Sebastian Stan and his _new year, new hair, new boyfriend._

The young CEO fell silent. He felt as if he was stuffed into an iron safe, sealed tight and thrown into the icy waters to drown in his panic. He hadn't had an anxiety episode since years and right then, his heart pretty much wanted to explode from the surge of apprehension in his system. It turned his emotions cold and his conscience askew.

_I can’t stay._

Next thing he knew, Chris was booking an Uber ride out of the area. For someone who was supposedly good at reading and empathizing with people, Hayley just dropped a goddamn building on his head so unfortunately for her and her tactlessness, he wasn’t going to stay around for the countdown like he planned to.

“You know, you may be an expert and everything but you don’t know me, Hayley. You’re wrong. About everything.”

He chucked his beer bottle into a nearby bin before starting past the model to take his leave.

_Well, isn’t this the suckiest first date since forever._

“I had fun, Miss Atwell. I really did but...have a Happy New Year. Enjoy yourself at the party.”

She looked a lot disappointed but the model knew better than to stop him. The damage was done.

“You too. May all your wishes come true, Chris.”

 

* * *

 

 

It was almost noon the next day when he returned home and when he did, Sebastian was waiting for him.

“Chris!” He exclaimed, rushing to the door the moment the young man opened it and let himself in. “Thank God, you're home.”

Him and his goddamn blue as Hell eyes, practically pouncing on him like a puppy when its owner gets back from a long day out. The flutter in his stomach returned, and it turned wild with excitement. 

_I thought this shit would be over with all the cold showers I took last night._

Chris felt like running out of the apartment again but Sebastian knew nothing about what he was feeling right then, so doing that would raise a billion questions. He didn’t want a billion questions from the guy.

He needed to stay calm as possible. _Breathe, Evans. Just breathe and all this will go away. Because whatever this is that you have for this man, it’s just a phase._

_He’s God most perfect creation and he belongs with Chace Crawford and you’re going continue to be wingman as Hell supportive of that._

That was what he managed to convince himself after he took multiple cold showers and then lying on his back on the bed, staring at the ceiling like they had answers, in total darkness for most of the night while the world outside celebrated the coming of 2018. Chris had this shit show under control by the time he woke up and he wasn’t going to lose it again because of _those_ eyes.

 _Breathe._ “Hey ya, Seb.”

“Where have you been?” The photographer was doing a full on body scan on him next. Up and down, up and down, as if checking for a missing limb or something.

“You look okay. You’re okay, right?”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Chris went, pretending to be clueless at what the other man was all up in his face about. “Why won’t I be?”

Maybe throwing Sebastian off his ride wasn’t as easy as he thought it’d be. The photographer’s eyebrows rose so high up his forehead at the way Chris just answered him. They came into a tight knit in the middle of his forehead the next second and he scoffed, ridiculed. “Why?”

Because there he was, obviously very worried about the other man whereas Chris, he didn’t feel like explaining why he was still in yesterday’s clothes. He didn’t feel like explaining _anything_ to the guy, actually but Sebastian wasn’t going to let that rest, of course.

_Coming home is a bad idea._

“You went missing! You left Hayley, left us all at the party. Missed the countdown. Left your car at the Pier, didn’t answer any of my calls, no reply to my texts, didn’t go to your office and didn’t come home,” he huffed, staring at the blonde in his disbelief.

“I was this close to filing a missing person report on your ass, that’s why! Where were you?”

 _Breathe._ He couldn’t lie, no. Bending the truth, however, was workable with. “Oh. I, uh, I checked into a hotel last night.”

“Alone?”

“Yes, alone.”

“Because you needed to sort yourself out?”

“How’d you…” Chris was surprised that Sebastian knew about it until it hit him. “Of course. Hayley told you that.”

“Yes, she did.” Sebastian cocked his head and folded his arms, suspicious. “You’ve been behaving a little off since yesterday, Chris. You space out whenever I talk to you and you took off on a woman who totally gets you. What’s going on?”

 _Oh! She got me alright._ “Nothing’s going on, Seb. I’m _fine_ and that’s all that matters, right? Hayley was wonderful and everything but…I just didn’t feel like partying last night.”

“Okaaaaay….” That made no sense to the other man at all. “So you just upped and slept at a hotel, all by yourself. I mean, it’s just not like you to-”

“Seb,” he interrupted, groaning. His agitation grew at how the man was still cornering him about his stunt.

 _Breathe._ “I’m _fine_. Can’t we just leave it at that? Sometimes I wanna do crazy things. So what?”

“ _Sorting yourself out_ is your idea of doing crazy things.”

Something about the way he moved in the good lighting in his apartment was making Chris see the other man’s mouth move in slow motion when he talked.

 _This seriously has to fucking stop._ “It’s not a big deal, Sebastian. It’s none of your concern.”

Maybe he sounded more nonchalant than he meant to and that triggered the brown-haired man’s annoyance. “You literally disappeared, Chris.”

“I know.”

“I couldn’t sleep the whole night.”

 _Cares way too much about me._ “I’m sorry I caused that.”

“You did. And I can totally feel your sincerity right now.”

He didn’t mean to, he didn’t want to but Chris had been walking on a freaking tightrope ever since yesterday and he couldn’t continue keeping his balance when Sebastian kept coming at him to push him off. Something had to give. Eventually, he snapped.

“Can you back off a little?” He suddenly barked, startling his housemate with his outburst.

“Why do you always have to be in my space, Seb?”

The photographer clicked his tongue, wondering where the Hell was the unexpected angst came from. “I thought that’s never been an issue.”

“Yeah?” Chris’ scoff was monumental. “Well, it is now.”

“The Hell’s your problem?” The other man grunted, blindsided by the young CEO‘s souring attitude. He didn’t think it was fair that Chris just ripped his head off for showing genuine concern. “I just wanna know-”

“Christ.” The other man rolled his eyes. Hard. “Typical.”

That did it. Sebastian’s expression changed from worry to looking like he was slapped across the face. “What?”

“I said _typical_ , Seb,” the blonde hissed, unable to hold back his anxiety from spiralling out of control. “You wanna know _everything_ , don’t you?”

Sebastian went quiet but his blue, blue, fiery blue eyes were slowly burning a hole through the back of his housemate’s skull. _Fucking invasive._ Chris sensed his defense crumbling the more he stood there staring back into them but _no, don’t let them get you._

“I already told you what happened, Sebastian.” He threw his keys onto the counter in his frustration, walking away from the other man to head for his room. “Now lay off it.”

“Fine.” _Those_ eyes rolled to the angry shrug of his shoulders. “Sorry for giving a flying fuck about you, Evans.”

He knew he shouldn’t. Chris should’ve taken himself out of the eye of the storm but the other man’s sarcasm was uncalled for and hit a wrong spot in him like deadshot.

“Don’t do that. It’s your goddamn choice, Seb,” Chris spat, spinning back to him, dissatisfied with his remark.

“It’s all you!” The blonde exploded. “ _You_ wanna care so much about me. _You_ wanna know why I do this, why I do that. I need you to fucking stop it.”

His eyes narrowed, repulsed. “Stop prying into my life - I’m not all up your ass, demanding information when you didn’t tell me that you and Chace got together now, am I?”

_Wait. What?_

_Shit._

“Huh?” Sebastian caught that. It was loud and clear. He blinked, surprised. “What did you say?”

_Shit. Shit. Shit._

“What’s that got to do with this fucked up attitude of yours?”

_Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck._

Chris’ heart jumped in his alarm. Denial was first to exit out of him with, “forget what I said.”

“I’d love to, really but you just made your problem mine,” Sebastian went. He moved towards the blonde, squaring his shoulders, the blue of his eyes ablaze. He looked like he was on a mission to kill _._

_Damn it. Damn it._

“You’re upset that I didn’t tell you about my relationship with Chace. What is this, high school?”

“For fuck’s sake, Sebastian,” the blonde snapped when more panic flooding into him. “I said forget it. Back off!”

“Or what, Chris?” His housemate taunted, unfazed, not a single bit. “I’ve the right to know what’s the issue here because it seems to involve me and my- Evans! Where are you going?”

_I can’t do this. This is way too much for me to handle._

He didn’t answer. The CEO made an abrupt U-turn past Sebastian and stalked for the only way out out of this warzone, grabbing his car keys along the way.

Hot at his heels was the brown-haired man and his determination to get what he wanted, even if it meant jumping into his lane to block the exit with his entire self.

“Hey, I’m fucking talking to you!”

It happened way too fast - Sebastian’s reach for his elbow barely landed when Chris grunted and smacked his hand away. Before he knew it, the young CEO grabbed him by the arms and slammed the other man into the cool wooden surface of the door behind him, snarling into his face with, “you fucking touch me one more time, Sebastian and I swear I will...”

_Whoa, whoa! Stop!_

The look on the photographer’s face was priceless - he was beyond appalled by the sudden threat directed to him. All his time knowing the blonde, Chris would never hurt a fly. They’d gotten into numerous bickering and arguments but nothing like this one before - this was very new and it was very, very bad. Very.

 _Fuck, Chris! What did you just do?_ “Oh my God!”

Chris gasped and jumped back, quickly releasing his housemate when he did. He dropped his head and cursed under his breath, horrified by what he just did.

“I’m sorry!” He cried, regret taking him over immediately after that. The CEO caved when _those_ eyes struck him into further remorse. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

Sebastian however, wasn’t disturbed by the attack. Not at all. Didn’t even flinch when Chris threw him against the door. Instead, the brown-haired man was more baffled by the blonde’s meltdown than he was scared of or mad at him.

That was how motherfucking amazing Sebastian Stan was. “Did I hurt you?”

“No, I’m alright.”

And that made Chris feel like killing himself right then. “I seriously don’t know why I did that. I was...I just…”

“Okay. Okay, hey. I’m okay.”

“Christ!”

“Look, please just…Calm down,” Sebastian said, his voice dropping to a decibel lower, coaxing the CEO into controlling the unbridled chaos within him despite having no clue why this was all going to shit.

Therapeutic. “Breathe, Chris. Just breathe, okay?”

_That’s right. Breathe, Chris._

The CEO never really noticed that Sebastian had a tiny dimple on his left cheek but there it was, sneaking into his sight underneath the light, neat stubble he was sporting. His smile was small and tight but the worry that returned on his face was exponential.

“The Hell’s gotten into you, damn it?”

The rage in him died when he looked deeper into _those_ eyes. Chris felt a really strong wave of emotions pushing him to do what he would never have done had he fought himself harder to obtain better self-control.

Without thinking twice and in a sudden movement, Chris leaned in and kissed the other man - hard, deep and fully on the lips. He kissed him with intensity so forceful, with his sanity hanging by a thread, with the stress of his heart galloping at a billion beats per minute and with the electrifying surge in his body sentencing his common sense to death.

The kiss didn’t last long and the repercussion of his brash action came swift. Sebastian let out an angry yelp and pushed him off before landing a whole, solid palm on the side of Chris’ his face, striking him hard.

“Fuck, Seb!”

Chris recoiled upon impact but he didn’t retaliate. He knew he fucking deserved it, jumping the other man with something major like this. Crossing the line out of his own whim, he had zero respect for him.

Naturally, things went to Hell.

“So did you get your answer?”

The twist in the plot was tragic on a dramatic scale. Sebastian’s kind nature was gone and he was glowering at him next, the smile on his face turning into a menacing, disgusted scowl as he angrily wiped a hand across his mouth. There was nothing in those blue, blue, blue as Hell eyes of his that suggested he liked what just happened.

“Did you get yourself _sorted out_ from doing this to me?”

The blonde didn’t get the chance to say or do anything else with his entire head throbbing from the pain of the slap he received. All he knew was that the damage he created was catastrophic and the grounds they were standing on turned nuclear with hostility.

Sebastian was really, really mad.

It escalated way too fast and crashed way too soon - the photographer had grabbed the handle and yanked open the door of their unit. His last words to Chris’ face before he walked out of the Hell zone was, “You’re an asshole, Chris.”

Had Sebastian slammed the door in his face any harder, he would have caused an earthquake and the whole condominium compound to come crashing down on his ass but that didn’t matter to the CEO.

Sebastian calling him an asshole didn’t either. He deserved that one, too. For sure.

His new problem was the amount of marbles he was about to lose when the buzz on his lips began to spread this really nice, tingling sensation all over him. He was regretting it to Hell and back until the warmth from the kiss made him want to smile like an idiot at the stupid door.

Suddenly, more than anything else right then, Chris Evans had to stupidly wonder.

_Was I a bad kisser or something?_

 

 

* * *

 

_To be continued..._

 

 

Thanks for reading!

Gonna watch Black Panther tonight woohoo!

 

 


	6. Pushing Up Daisies.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of Chace's territorial behavior issues, to challenging a mini-POTUS and making love not war with Sebastian Stan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My sincerest apologies for anyone who's been waiting for an update since the last published work. Life got in the way big time, thank you very much for bookmarking and leaving your comments! 
> 
> #7 is a WIP :P

** Read the rest **

#1: [How I Met My Sergeant](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/28165590)

#2:[ A Little Personal Space Invasion Ain’t so Bad](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/28367022)

#3: [Trouble is you](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/28985778)

#4: [Chace Crawford](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/29260248)

#5: [Psychology be Damned](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/31555704)

 

* * *

 

 

**#6**

 

The situation from then on was either like walking on eggshells or in a field filled with landmines for Chris. Even when at home, Sebastian managed to avoid him like plague and to date, had successfully not looked at or talked to him for over three whole weeks.

How in the bloody blue hell was that possible in an 1,800 square feet apartment with one main entrance and exit, Chris Evans didn’t know but it was how it was and honest to God, it was frustrating as fuck.

_He hates me._

Annoyed by the noise in his head, the young CEO of Christopher’s Haven Hospital for Children muttered a swear word under his breath. He’d been standing in front of the vending machine for a solid minute, staring at bubble gum packs like they were the most complicated thing he ever saw before it occurred to him that he didn’t want any gum in the first place.

_He fucking hates me._

Once again, his mind wandered too far and got the blonde lost. “How do I do this?”

_How do I fix everything?_

“Please tell me that’s not what you’re having for lunch.”

Startled, Chris turned his head to see Chace Crawford appearing from thin air and into his zone, in stealth mode so solid it was practically magic.

A ninja-slash-magician-slash- _Sebastian’s new boyfriend._ _Look at that. Unstoppable already. “_ Chace! Hey, man.”

At the back of his head, Chris quickly raked his brains to remember if he was scheduled to be in a meeting or lunch date with his good friend and core business partner that day.

_Nope. None. What’s he doing here?_

“Evans!” The other man sang, finally coming to a stop before him after what it felt like a long walk up the hallway they were in. In a white golf tee in the middle of Friday, too. What a jock, this guy.

And he went, “quick question now. Should I be worried about you?”

Chris froze. _Shit. He knows._ “I’m sorry?”

“I said, should I be worried about you?”

Cornered, the young CEO of Christopher’s Haven Hospital for Children decided to pretend to be confused at the question that sent his heart rate skyrocketing.

“No. I’m good.” _Of course Sebastian told him what happened!_ “Why uh, why do you ask?”

“Oh. Well…” The other man’s dark green eyes darted to the machine in front of them and back to the blonde before raising his eyebrows in question again.

“Because I saw that you’ve been standing here staring at this thing for quite some time. Got a lot on your mind?”

“Paperwork,” Chris replied, quicker than he expected himself to. When lying was not his forte, working with an alternative truth was something he could feel less worse when using it to save his ass right then. “Really sensitive ones.”

“Ah.” Chace nodded, knowing that kind of pain too well. “I heard POTUS is in the building?”

“POTUS! I wish. Nah. Politician from Chicago. Been a hectic morning, looking into demands for heightened security and please don’t make me go through the list again,” the blonde sighed, acting his ‘misery’ with a great roll of his eyes and a shake of his head. Theatrical.

 _Thank you, High School drama club_. “Wasn’t expecting you here today. What’s up, Tiger Woods?”

“Yeah, about this!” The young entrepreneur laughed at the jab. Good-natured. “Had a quick tee-off this morning with one of my investors. I know I usually call or text you beforehand but I found myself in the area and thought I’d go grab lunch with you.”

_Yup. He knows everything and he’s plotting my murder already._

“Haven’t gone to Bruno’s since I got back. Can you believe it? They’re still serving those crazy yum lobster rolls, right?”

 _Under the unpretentious context of ‘lunch’, too_ . _Always so smart, this guy._ “Yeah.”

“Great! I’m dying for one right now. My treat, Evans. Work can wait. Let’s go!”

 _Can I take a raincheck, like, forever?_ “I’d love to but I’m a little tied up at the moment.”

“Ah, come on. All the more you need to get out of here for a bit!"

Chace reached out, putting his hand on the blonde’s shoulder and squeezing it. Telling Chris it was a friendly one but he wasn’t taking a _no_ for an answer.

“We didn’t get to catch up much the last time we met. Been quite an interesting few months, hasn’t it?”

 

* * *

 

 

 

Good ol’ Bruno’s at the corner of Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade never failed to deliver in its special lunch sets. The menu was not extensive but the food could turn any frown upside down and the lousiest of days into a perfectly good one.

So if this was really going to be his final meal on Earth, Chris Evans would like to think that at least he would go a very full and a very satisfied young man.

_Or you can relax and enjoy your softshell sub? You’ve been with him for the past half hour and it doesn’t look like he’s gonna start slicing you into ribbons with goddamn machetes._

_If he knew what happened, he wouldn’t be so civil with you, would he?_

_Maybe he’s being civil because he knows. And then, all of a sudden...Here lies Christopher Robert Evans - Rest in Pieces!_

_You seriously need to motherfucking relax, son._

Either his self-conversation was too obvious or Chace had developed mind-reading abilities because their casual chat about their epic volunteer programme in Cambodia (once upon a time) suddenly took a totally different turn when the brown-haired man suddenly asked, “so how are things with Sebastian?”

_Hah! I knew it. His murder plan is now officially in motion!_

Luckily, Chris managed to swallow his water without choking on it. He was looking at Chace eyeballing him next, the curiosity in his stare making his heart skip three beats once again.

“I found out that the two of you are having a major fight.”

 _This is it._ “Uh, yeah. We’re not seeing things eye to eye at the moment.”

“He’s really angry at you, Chris. How bad is this?”

 _This is how I end._ “What did he tell you?”

“Not much. He only told me that you broke his trust.”

_Ouch. Wait a minute._

Across the table, Chace’s smile changed to a tight one. “Other than that, he said there’s nothing that I should be overly concerned about.”

_Oh, good God! Thank you, Sebastian._

Keeping a straight face with that much relief flooding into him was goddamn tough but the blonde had to do it. Thankfully, diplomacy was an art the young CEO had mastered from all the years of running his father’s legacy so no doubt, he got this. He knew what to say to Chace.

“The fight’s pretty serious.” Chris said, twirling the fork in his hand. “Kinda personal.”

“I had no idea it’s personal,” the other man went, saying it like he didn’t quite hear it right.

Or rather, he didn’t quite like what he heard. “So this means you’re not gonna tell me anything too, huh?”

The light and casual lunch atmosphere began to darken from the way the CEO chose to answer his business partner. It came like a cold, hard suckerpunch to his face rather than a diplomatic attempt to keep things under control. Great.

 _Here lies Christopher Robert Evans...at least he made it_ this _far._ “I get it that you’re a little upset.”

“A _little_ upset?”

His ridiculed scoff was mighty. “ _A little upset_ , my friend, is an understatement. You do know that we're together, right?"

Pins and needles pickled his skin as the turmoil in him returned: in one hand, Chris felt terrible for not being able to be honest with his own good friend while on the other and in his defense, he really did not need another casualty on board this train wreck.

 _Stick to your original plan, Chris. He’s not your main problem right now. “_ I know you don’t like it but I need you to understand that I rather keep this between us too, Chace.”

“Right, right,” Chace snorted, his reply laced with acid. “Because there’s really nothing that I should be overly concerned about - especially when it involves _you_.”

If things weren’t tense enough, it just nosedived into further awkwardness with Chace Crawford flexing serious territorial behaviour on his new man.

“Okay, I might as well get this out in the open.”

His sigh was curt. “I can’t change his fondness for you, Chris - you’ve been there for him since the start of his new life here. I get that, I respect that but you’ve to understand that he’s become very special to me, too.”

Chris wasn’t following. “What exactly are you saying?”

The other man was calm despite his patience running on low. “I’m saying if you haven’t accepted the fact that he’s with me now then you really need to do that, Evans.”

Silence wedged itself between the two men, threatening to kick up one hell of a shit storm within him if Chris wasn’t already goddamn done with what people kept accusing him of.

“I’m not _jealous_ , Chace,” the blonde replied, his defense tripling at the frontline to the ridiculousness of it all. First a total, smart ass stranger and then his own friend.

 _Talking like they got me all figured out._ “I’ve never been jealous of you and him. Why would I be? I’m not like the both of you."

“Not like the both of us.”

The dawn of something on the brown-haired man’s face the next second made him smirk at the young CEO’s statement. “What, you mean like gay?”

There he was trying to be tactful and Chace just chuckled as if Chris had said something funny to him. “Oh, I’m not gay. I know Sebastian is but I’m not.”

 _Huh?_ “You’re with him, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” He nodded, reaching for his wine. “But it’s not because of that. I’m still into women.”

10 years of friendship and this was _definitely_ new. Perhaps living overseas in the past couple of years did change him. Different people, different pastures, right? Right. He didn’t need details.

“Let’s not get into that right now. So I don’t know what you have for Sebastian but if there’s one thing I know about chemistry, Evans, is that it does not work on a one-way street. I just wanna know if I should be worried.”

How his defense cracked when the facts tallied against him was rather too easy. It felt as if his own conscience had practically volunteered itself to be riddled by the bullets his friend was firing. At point blank, Chace couldn’t miss even if he had his eyes closed. 

But if there was anything a stupid two-second kiss could tell Chris Evans was that he was a delusional douchebag and nothing else to Sebastian Stan.

Ultimately, all phases will end _._ “Rest assured you’ve absolutely nothing to worry about when it comes to him and I, Crawford. We may care about each other deeply but I’m, in no way at all, your competition.”

The stare down between the two men only grew more tense but Chris couldn’t exactly flip a goddamn table in his exasperation right then. “I just want to fix what’s broken between us. He’s my friend and I can’t lose him over a stupid mistake - this friendship matters a lot to me and making things right again is the only thing I want to do right now.”

Chace was still somewhat dissatisfied. “That’s all there is. Friendship.”

 _Jesus Christ, seriously. Overprotective, much?_ “He’s yours already, isn’t he? Come on, man.”

Finally, after a long time of holding his good friend in crazy suspense and trying to burn everything to the ground, the entrepreneur finally decided to let up on his offense.

“Alright, Chris. I’ll take it as it is - that my intervening into your _very personal matter_ with my boyfriend will not make things any easier for you.”

 _I swear this brother has no motherfucken idea._ “Thank you.”

“But only this one time,” Chace went, almost in a threat. “I’d like to think that Sebastian enjoys waking up in my bed every other morning but I want it to be because he wants to be there - not because he’s avoiding you.”

_Wow. TMI, really._

“Can I trust that you’ll fix this as soon as possible, Evans?”

“I’ll get straight to it, I promise.”

 

* * *

 

 

 

Chris Evans was a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Good or bad, something only happens for a reason.

But finding that one person who wouldn’t as much as glance at him inside their own home suddenly sitting in one of the chairs in front of his desk the second he stepped back into office after lunch had to be the work of a much higher power.

Him and his blue, blue, insanely sky blue eyes. No talk, no calls, no texts, no _nothing_ for what it felt like eternity and suddenly *poof* there he was.

 _Yet another ninja-magician in my life_. “Sebastian!”

At the other end of his working space, the photographer didn’t acknowledge Chris’ surprise. Neither did he smile back when he said, “Danielle said I could wait in here.”

His assistant. “Of course! How long have you been here?” _by the way, I came out of a freaking warzone with your boyfriend literally just 5 minutes ago and now you’re here._

_Issit Make Things Difficult for Chris Day or what?_

“Not that long. Listen, Chris,” he said, the urgency in his voice bringing the other man out of his thoughts. “Before anything, I’m not here for you.”

The CEO then realized that the other man was a little edgy when he got up and began walking over to him, his footsteps big and rushed. The expression on his face was cold but he was chewing the insides of his cheeks like he was contemplating something really serious. Sebastian was nervous.

Before Chris could ask, a huge shimmery red package with a massive silver bow stuck to it materialized in the other man’s hands and he held it out to him.

_Gift bag?_

“Right now, I need you to do me a favour.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

The amount of signatures he dropped on those _really delicate paperwork_ earlier this morning when a VVVVIP’s daughter got wheeled into the Haven’s ER straight from her family’s private jet the moment it landed in LAX was not a matter to be taken lightly.

For a very popular and well-respected clan, the Arden family had very little air about them.

“This is so freakin’ awesome!”

Whatever a _Mewnicorn_ was supposed to be, it made the nine-year-old girl squeal so loudly in her joy that her voice echoed down the entire private ward floor. Thankfully, none of her bodyguards jumped at her sudden outburst. They would’ve locked down the entire compound if that happened, Chris bet. Declare compound-wide martial law on things or something.

“Yay!” She cried again, holding up the stuffed toy in the air before hugging it tightly in her arms.

Her big brown eyes were glassy. “How’d you know I wanted one? Did daddy tell you about it?”

Whatever a _Mewnicorn_ was supposed to be, Chris had to act like he knew everything about it. “Not exactly. It’s pretty popular with kids in this hospital. Figured you’d like one.”

“Popular?” Jemma Arden looked confused all of a sudden. “But _Mewnicorn_ is not available in stores yet, Chris. At least that’s what they said on their Instagram page.”

 _Oh, snap. Lying is DEFINITELY NOT your forte, man._ “Oh. Err…”

Luckily, he was quick to run the database of toys that he knew the children actually had. Yes, he had such things in his memory just in case. Amusing fun fact but right then, could potentially save his embarrassment.

“I guess I got it mixed up with the Pokemon ones? Anyway, this is for you and I hope you like it!”

“ _Mewnicorn_ is not a Pokemon, Chris.” Jemma’s laughter was infectious. “You’re so funny.”

 _Phew._ “So I was told.”

“And I absolutely freaking love it. Thank you very much!”

Whatever a _Mewnicorn_ was supposed to be, it totally trumped the rest of the 5,000 gifts and presents from well-wishers that were inside her recuperation unit right then. “You’re welcome. Hold on to your new buddy real tight, okay? Rest well. I’ll see you again tomorrow.”

Jemma’s grin disappeared. “Do you really have to leave now? I wanna invite you to my tea party. It’s going to start in, uhm, five minutes! Please stay for awhile.”

 _If adorable could kill, seriously._ “Sorry, sweetie, I’d stay if I could. Hey, how about tomorrow? I’ll bring cupcakes and a really fun board game. Deal?”

“Deal!” She nodded, quick to agree. “The party will start at three. Don’t be late, okay?”

 _Consider my calendar updated_. “It’s date, ma’am.”

Jemma’s father insisted on walking him out when the blonde took his leave from the ward. Him and 2 very burly, insanely protective secret service agents shadowing the man at a good arm’s length, of course.

He was amused by what just went down between Chris and his daughter. “You know, my princess doesn’t _reschedule_ her tea parties for just anyone, Mister Evans.”

The man stuck his hand out to the blonde next. “Congratulations in making it to her ‘It’ list!”

Never could the younger man ever imagine that a powerful and highly decorated political figure like Eric Arden would welcome puny ol’ him into his daughter’s prestigious tea party society with an official handshake but look at that.

Felt a lot like an achievement unlocked, honestly. “Thank you, sir. I feel honored.”

“Please. The honor is all mine - your facility has been very responsive in accommodating to our demands. Her allergy reaction was never this serious before - I truly and especially appreciate the personal touch to make Jemma feel comfortable during her recovery here.”

See? No air. Just a worried father. He was genuinely grateful. “So thank _you,_ Mister Evans.”

“You’re welcome, sir.”

_Your job is done, Chris._

The blonde was about to go into the elevator when a sudden uprise within the walls of his heart reminded him that he had, as a matter of fact, predetermined an entirely different outcome from this meeting with the politician. The moment Sebastian handed him the present to be sent to his VVVVIP patient, he knew he had to do it.

Thing is, he also knew that he really, really, seriously shouldn’t. It was, after all, none of his business.

But….“you know!”

The CEO was standing face to face with the Democrat again. This time, Chris had lowered his voice to a considerate level of hush - he understood that the man’s family and fleet of agents were just a corner turn away. He supposed Eric wouldn’t want them to know.  

“He told me that for a person of your position, you’re an awfully humble and nice guy.”

At first, he totally lost the politician. The man raised a brow in wonder. “That’s flattering. Who told you that about me?”

“Sebastian Stan did.”

The mention of his housemate’s name instantly drained the color off the prolific figure’s face like bleach thrown onto a watercolor painting - he paled over so hard and so fast, Chris thought the guy was going to pass out the next second.

“Sebastian!” He went, the calming brown of his eyes completely gone. “You know him.”

 _Well, he reacted to that nicely._ “Yes, sir. I do. He’s a very good friend of mine.”

Chris couldn’t tell if he was surprised-surprised or terrified-surprised when he asked, “Is he here right now?”

“Don't worry, he already left the premises,” Chris replied. “I want you to know that the present was actually from him. He also sends his regards to you and hopes Jemma gets better soon.”

Next came a really long and increasingly uneasy pause.

“Ah...So he gave her that _Mewnicorn_. That’s very thoughtful of him.”

Another pause.

“Well, isn’t this is a small world,” Eric sighed to himself, perhaps to the irony of it all. “He’s living in Los Angeles now...”

“Yes, sir. He is.”

Pause.

“Hmmm…”

Pause.

Seeing the articulate and poised Eric Arden suddenly reduced to struggling with his words was amazing. Lucky for him, Chris wasn’t in a rush. He let the guy take it all in, process everything.

After eons of staring into space and probably running around like a maniac in his headspace, the politician finally found his tongue.

Only to ask Chris, “Can I know if there is anything else that he wants from me, Mister Evans?”

 _That’s all he’s concerned about?_ “No, sir.”

For a second there, relief dawned upon the politician’s worried expression. “Very well, then. Please thank Sebastian for me and tell him that I wish him all the best.”

With a quick glance at the Tag, Eric’s part in the conversation reached its end. “Now unless you have something else which requires my immediate attention, I’d like to go and be with my daughter now. Have a good day, Mister Evans.”

“Hold on a minute, Mister Arden.”

Never in his entire life could Chris ever imagine stopping someone as powerful as Eric Arden by reaching out to catch his elbow when he turned to leave but he doggone did.

The madman he turned into, Christ. “With all due respect sir, I’m not done talking to you.”

“I suggest you take your hand off me before my agents see this,” Eric scoffed.

“I'm afraid I can't and I sincerely apologize for my action but I have a really important question to ask you.”

“Which, in any case, I’m not obligated to answer.”

“I understand that,” Chris said, persistent. He kept it simple. “But I hope that you will answer it and before you do, I’ll need you to do that with all formalities between us put aside, sir.”

The politician was surprised that the young gun even dared to touch him and _then_ challenge him like that, as if the warning about the agents dropping his ass was a joke. “You want us to talk like we’re friends or something like that, Mister Evans?”

“Preferably, from one concerned man to another.”

Maybe he was seeing things but Eric actually looked somewhat impressed by the his negotiation skills right then. “You won’t give up, will you?”

Sighing, Chris shook his head. He let the politician take his arm back. “I can do this all day.”

Three goddamn summers passed before the politician finally leveled down to his request. “Fine then, _Christopher_. What is it that you want to ask me?”

With _those_ eyes in mind, the young CEO of Christopher’s Haven proceeded to bid his sparkling reputation with someone who was practically a mini-POTUS right then a big, fat adios amigos.

“Don’t you want to know how Sebastian's doing these days, Eric?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

That Friday had to be the longest, most trying Friday of his entire life. At merely 36-years-old and fighting fit but Chris Evans practically crawled home using his face the whole time because goddamn, that was the longest and most trying Friday of his entire life.

A long, heavenly hot shower.  
Nat King Cole on loop.  
Cup of hot Chamomile tea = checked.

Lights out and sleep until Monday comes around = In progress.

The comfort of his king-sized bed was beyond magical when he sunk himself deeper in it, yawning like a goddamn lion when he did. Chris was _this_ close to losing consciousness when he heard the familiar jingle of keys and then the front door of his apartment opening.

 _Not like he’s gonna talk to me anyway_.

The blonde grunted to that annoying fact before rolling over to one side, turning away from the door to face the wall. He picked up his pillow and smashed it over his head, as if doing that would drown out his housemate’s existence inside their home and grant him immediate sleep.

However, the sound of footsteps outside grew louder. Came closer. Stopped right outside his bedroom. A couple of soft knocks came and then…

“Chris?”

He didn’t the Hell know what just surged into him but for a guy whose battery life was supposedly depleted, Chris practically cartwheeled out of bed and swung open his door in an overly excited manner, startling the man on the other side with it when he did.

His blue, blue, blue as Hell eyes. _Breathtaking._

Chris wondered for a second there if this was a dream. Nothing in his dream had gone to shit by the way, as opposed to what his reality was like. “Hi. Hello, you!”

Miraculously, Sebastian smiled. Obviously, the _Hello_ , you was a bit too much but Chris didn’t fucking care. Right then, nothing exploded on the ground he was standing on. Death wasn’t staring out from _those_ eyes and for the first time in what it seemed like for-fucking-ever, Sebastian just smiled at his corny-ass, Queen of England _hello, you_.

“Were you asleep?” He was asking, his eyes bright as day despite the little amount of light in their home right then. His voice, kind. Soothing. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

 _Fucking kidding me right now or what, this guy?_ “No! You’re not, not at all.”

The young CEO realized that he needed to stop talking like a goddamn dolphin. He cleared his throat and shook his head. “I was, uh, I was doing push ups. Pull ups. Sit ups.”

“A circuit.”

“Having a hard time going to sleep. Yeah.”

The brown-haired man glanced over his friend’s shoulder and came back to him looking confused. “In the dark?”

 _Liar, liar plants for hire. You’re not even sweating, too. And in your pajamas!  God, you’re horrible._ “Er...Yeah. So!”

“So…” Sebastian’s smile changed to a knowing grin, immensely amused by the fact that Chris even tried with him. Thankfully, he wasn’t going to tease him to Hell about it. “Not a bad time?”

“Not at all,” Chris said, holding in a sigh from exiting. The amount of relief he was experiencing was phenomenal, kind of how someone would feel when a desperate prayer was answered.

With a silent _Hallelujah,_ he moved aside. “Please, come in.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

The blonde then turned on his floor lamp and sat down at the edge of his bed while Sebastian, in the reading chair in front of him. He didn’t need much visibility to see that Sebastian Stan looked like a 1000% effort right then. His hair was done up, his stubble neat. The whole fitted navy overcoat, dark grey slacks combination screamed metro as fuck. Those brogues must be new.

Noticeable details like the dangerously low neckline of his jet black top under his outerwear kicked off their first conversation in decades with Chris going, “date night?”

“Yup,” the photographer nodded, suddenly falling shy at his prompt. “But you’ll never guess with who. Oh wait a minute! Maybe you _do_ because you just couldn’t stop yourself, could you?”

Because Chris was doggone tired, he was slower than a turtle. “Huh?”

“I did _not_ send him my regards, Chris. He wasn’t supposed to know that it was from me. I just wanted you to play messenger but you just had to, didn’t you?”

“I had to what? Seb.” Chris swore the guy was speaking alien right then. “What are you talking about?”

“You really don’t know? I just had dinner with my ex.”

“Whoa! What?”

The blonde was not expecting that at all. That woke him up straightaway. “You serious? You met up with Eric.”

“Yes! Well, him and about five of his bodyguards. In a ‘meeting’,” the brown-haired man snorted, rolling his eyes to the air commas he just did. “Freakin' boyband.”

“Then what happened?” The blonde felt excited too, almost like a giddy teenage girl listening to gossip. “What’s with dinner?”

“He wanted to apologize to me. Properly, formally and in person. Also, to talk. So we talked. Like, seriously talked. Everything out in the open - it was insanely refreshing.”

The smile on Sebastian’s face then stretched to Hell. “Also...he’s agreed to drop the court order.  Provided that I don’t run press, of course. So that’s the long story, short.”

 _Can I get another Hallelujah in here?_ “Oh my God!”

Chris caught himself before he could scream like a giddy teenage girl who was just fed gossip. “That’s amazing, Seb.”

“Amazing? It’s fucking _unbelievable_ , Chris! So surreal,” the photographer went, beyond elated. Of course, he had to wonder. “I have to know: what exactly did you say to him that made him do this? I don’t think anything like that can ever happen, even in another lifetime.”

Frankly, Chris couldn’t remember much. “Just how you’ve been, really! Here and there. Don’t mind me sharing my opinion?”

“Go ahead.”

“I think he still cares. I’m serious - he had _a lot_ of questions about you in the end.”

“I suppose,” Sebastian grunted. Ironically, he sounded like he was so damn done. One could only take so much drama, Chris guessed. “Did you tell him that we live together?”

“No. I don’t want government service agents suddenly kicking down our door, Seb.”

Sebastian was amused. “Whatever for?”

“I don’t know! Well, I know your secret. You weren’t supposed to talk about Eric but you did with me and he kind of flipped out a little when he knew I knew.”

The photographer was still laughing. “In case you’re wondering, you’re still invited to Jemma’s little tea party."

 _Great. Looking forward to the awkwardness with Eric tomorrow._ “Yay.”

“So...just here and there, huh?” Sebastian went, leaning back in the chair after his amusement died down. “Just that?”

“I promise! But look, it doesn’t matter what I said to him anymore - I seriously had no idea about the dinner plan but I bet he looked for you only because he wanted to. It’s about damn time anyway, Seb.”

The photographer was genuinely worried. “He could’ve damaged your reputation, Chris.”

“Well, he didn’t. He made a better man out of himself in the process too, don’t you think so?”

Sebastian didn’t answer him. He only stared harder at Chris, this time with blue of his eyes appearing a little glazed over. His silence wasn’t hostile or menacing.

Suddenly, the young CEO wasn’t sure of what to make of the situation with his housemate looking at him the way he was right then. His head was slightly tilted and the adoration that was written all over his smile filled the blonde’s heart, making it swell with pride.

Chris liked it very, very much.

 _But this is where my phase ends._ “And unlike that guy, Chace is rather serious about making you happy - he’s all about you, wants to treat you right and protect you at all costs.”

“He is, isn’t he?” Sebastian sighed, with sparkles all over his eyes at the mention of his new partner. “I’m lucky.”

_Please. He’s the one who’s lucky. Fucking blessed, is more like it!_

Sebastian shifted himself to the edge of his seat and leaned into the blonde, still smiling like _that_. He was beaming with immense gratitude, he looked like he was going to cry anytime now.

“Thank you, Chris. Again, for everything.”

The hot blush on his face torched the words at the back of his tongue into ash, causing Chris to only nod sheepishly in his response. His difficulty to speak threatened to become permanent the longer he held _those_ eyes with his, finding himself once again, caught in the moment where time, space and continuum seemed to not matter or exist right then.

_“Can I trust that you’ll fix this as soon as possible, Evans?”_

_“I’ll get straight to it, I promise.”_

_Your job is done here, too._

With that, he exited out of his thoughts to find the photographer talking about something else “...I put the flowers in water already. They are really nice. For the house?”

“Flowers?”

He blanked out for a solid minute before Chris remembered that he had stopped by the florist on his way home earlier. Despite crawling on his face and everything, yes. “Oh! The flowers! No, not for the house. They’re…”

His blue, blue, blue as Hell eyes. Christ. _Beautiful._ “They’re for you, actually.”

“Oh.” They fluttered in his surprise. “For me?”

The drum of his heartbeat was suddenly so loud in his ears. Pumping more blood to his already red face, making Chris feel a little light-headed. “Thought they’d be perfect for an apology.”

Sebastian however, was sadly amused by his effort. “First you assaulted me and then kissed me and now you’re buying me flowers.”

He smirked. “You straight guys are all the same, aren’t you?”

Chris would have found that pretty funny if that didn’t just plunge a blunt stake into his heart. The photographer’s savagery tore him into oblivion but okay. Whatever, bring it. Chris was beyond bent on making amends between them, he was willing to take anything.

“I’ve been meaning to say sorry for what I did to you. It was seriously fucked up, Seb.”

Sebastian’s scoff was monumental in his agreement. “It was.”

The kind of pain that could bring a man to his knees was literal for Chris. He then quickly leaned up to hug Sebastian while he was still seated in the chair, catching the other man off guard when he did.

“I was very selfish to have hurt you like that. I’ll make it up to you, no matter what or how long it takes to build the trust back. Just don’t ignore me anymore, Seb...It fucking sucks when you do.”

He buried his face deeper into the crook of the other man’s neck in his remorse, feeling the light stubble on his jaw rough and ticklish against the smooth of his own.

“Please forgive me.”

It took a while but Sebastian’s hold around him was equally tight when he finally returned the hug. His warmth was beyond comforting, gradually relaxing the anxiety and turmoil within Chris the longer they held onto each other in the embrace. He smelled airy and sensual, reminding the young CEO of a light summer breeze blowing over pristine white sands of an unspoiled beach.

Just like his beautiful eyes, which struck a mental image of a bright midday sun over that same, empty shoreline.

Right then, everything was perfect.

“Apology accepted, Chris.”

And that was how the next shitshow happened.

 

* * *

 

 

It was a quarter after 4 in the morning and for someone who was supposedly maxed out, Chris was still wide awake. He had been on his phone for hours ever since Sebastian left, going through work-related emails, thinking he could at least bring himself to focusing on replying to them but nope. He watched dog videos, cat videos, iPhone 8 videos. Still a problem.

Truthfully, he needed constant distraction from the one thought that had been a monopolizing, gigantic tennis ball bouncing back and forth in his head and that was _I need to get over this._

Inside, his feelings were in a rage. He was hot and bothered. Anxious and excited. It wasn’t until he held the guy in his arms for so long that Chris  Evans realized getting Sebastian Stan out of his system was going to be a lot like that time when he went cold turkey from cigarettes - it wasn’t going to be easy at all.

“Urgh. Fucking kidding yourself, Evans. You like girls. You don’t like dicks.”

Frustrated, the young CEO then decided to get some fresh air and clear his head. He rolled off his bed, feeling the cold of the floor biting into his bones the second his feet landed on it. In a matter of seconds, Chris was in his activewear and was ready to go for a run. He might as well catch the sunrise while at it.

“Hi.”

For the second time that night, the blonde was surprised to find Sebastian standing outside his bedroom. He had a fist in the air and looked like he was about to knock it when Chris swung it open.

In the darkness of their living space, Sebastian looked like he was in a trance. The color of his eyes blazed with an impossibly bright shade of sky blue but his expression was somewhat blank, unreadable to a certain extent.

 _Why can’t he wear a shirt that doesn’t have a goddamn plunging neckline, Christ?_ “Hey, Seb.”

Sebastian let out a soft sigh. “I can’t sleep, Chris.”

"Me neither." For a second there Chris wondered if he was sleep walking. “What’s keeping you up?”

“You.”

 _Wait. What?_ “Me?”

“Yes, you. Why do you always have to make it so fucking difficult for me, Christopher?”

The way he asked that and then said his name sent Chris’ heartbeat drumming like crazy. He didn’t have the chance to do anything else when Sebastian took a single, swift step towards him and eliminated the distance between them. His housemate was standing so fucking close, the blonde could practically count the lashes on his eyes.

“You come into my life, picking me up and making me feel like…Like I can’t live without you. Who the Hell do you think you are?”

Blindsided by his sudden confession, panic began to strike into his common sense, telling him: _this is not happening. It cannot happen! You don’t have feelings for him. You never had. What you had for Sebastian was just a fucking phase._

 _You’re not like him, Chris._ “What are you doing, Seb?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure but.....”

Next thing he knew, they were kissing. He couldn’t remember who moved in for who first - Chris’ preoccupation with his emotions running high and horribly confused was derailing him from working with a conscience right then. This was motherfucking surreal, overwhelming beyond all sense.

Unfortunately he tasted sweet and wonderful, making Chris demand for more after each kiss was given to him. The cheeky, habitual twirl of Sebastian’s tongue between his lips never bothered Chris before - not until it moved teasingly against his own, causing spasms to erupt underneath his skin. The mere notion of Sebastian wanting to savor him turned Chris on. His knees became jelly. His whole body felt really, really, warm. His worries and hesitation were torched to oblivion the second he heard a meek, breathless moan escape the other man’s throat.

_More._

No further words were needed or exchanged after that. Their kissing quickly turned heated, fast. Messy. Hungry. Sparks of electricity ran up and down Chris’ spine when he felt the photographer’s fingers curl into the hem of his top, pushing it upwards. His coarse touch caressed the naked skin underneath the stupid layer of fabric, setting the blonde’s heart and senses ablaze. 

_More._

“I want you,” Chris rasped, grabbing him by the waist and spinning the other man around before pinning him up against the door of his room.

Never in his entire life would Chris ever understand the powerful attraction he was having for the other man but right then, that was making him see stars. The chemistry between them was fucking explosive, everything felt so right. And  _th_ _ose_ pair of blue, blue, blue as Hell eyes, Chris wanted nothing more than to lose himself completely in them.

“I fucking want you, Sebastian.”

In front of him, Sebastian’s pupils were dangerously dilated, his lips a little bruised, his breathing shallow and hard. His consenting moan was all Chris needed to hear before he waltzed his housemate into his room and kicked the door close behind them.

"I'm all yours, Chris."

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Infinity War kind of left me looking like O_O for a long, long time.

 

Thank you for reading, hope you like this twist!

 

#7 is a WIP! Hopefully I won't take so long to get it out :X *fingers crossed*


	7. Damn it, Christopher!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris believes that their one night of passion was no mere incident. 
> 
> But does Sebastian really think the same way?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hey! 
> 
> Again, my sincerest apologies for the superb delay of a new chapter release. Kinda fell out of the planet for a while, my coming back from it took longer than I planned to. Anyway, I hope everybody is doing good and here’s no. 7.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> #8 is WIP

** Read the rest **

#1: [How I Met My Sergeant](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/28165590)

#2:[ A Little Personal Space Invasion Ain’t so Bad](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/28367022)

#3: [Trouble is you](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/28985778)

#4: [Chace Crawford](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/29260248)

#5: [Psychology be Damned](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/31555704)

#6: [Pushing Up Daisies](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380940/chapters/33933315)

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

_ **#7**_

 

_Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars…._

  
The thing about Frank Sinatra was that he was doing an amazing job at cancelling out the static noise that typically occupied his headspace by filling it up with good ol’ swing music. Anxiety was a bitch to live with (although he had it under control since he started with the Haven) - ideally, Chris would want the legend crooning inside his head all the time.

_Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars..._

  
Because given the otherwise seriously fucked up situation right then, lying in his bed and swimming deeper into the expansive blank space of his mind was wonderful solace. The comforting heat within his sheets was beyond intoxicating, making him feel light-headed and giddy, as if his entire being was floating a good billion miles away from the ground in a nice, dream-like stupor.  
  
_In other words, hold my hand_  
  
_In other words, baby kiss me_  
  
Next to him laid the man who unlike him, was in a sleep so deep that when the CEO rolled onto his side, rocking the entire space with his weight, he didn’t stir a single bit. While he was gone from the world, their entangled limbs, his soft snoring and the press of his naked body against his own had kept Chris awake the entire time.  
  
That was when Frank started singing.  
  
_Fill my heart with song, let me sing forever more_  
  
_You are all I longed for, all I worship, I adore…_  
  
He ran his eyes all over the other man’s face and for the billionth time that night, took all of him into his senses. When bathed in the pathetic amount of moonlight that filtered into his room, Sebastian’s beauty was ridiculously mesmerising - the photographer was practically glowing under the covers, the sharp contrast of his skin appearing almost porcelain white against the deep shade of red on his lips and the dark, upturned curls on his forehead making him look a lot like Snow White.  
  
Or a very hot vampire. Hell, he looked like Snow White had a freaking baby with a very hot vampire. The point was, Sebastian Stan was quite a sight to wake up to.  
  
_In other words, please be true…_  
  
But there was something else other than his ridiculously God-blessed physicality that had the young CEO struggling to process the crazy _kamikaze butterflies_ that were fluttering about inside the walls of his tummy right then.  
  
_Damn it, Christopher._  
  
_Are you sure you’re up for this?_

 

 

* * *

 

  
Eventually he fell asleep and when he came around, it was mid day and the space next to him was already empty and cold. What was left in its place was a lingering scent which airy and sensual familiarity struck home with his senses.  
  
Other than the image of picturesque clear blue skies, the blonde man was also reminded of an incredible night filled with passionate kisses and intense love making in his bed - an experience that, once reality finally sank into his head, could potentially alter his life forever.  
  
So, yes. By the time he found the guy, Chris Evans was very well-prepared for things to be motherfucking awkward with Sebastian Stan.  
  
He was standing in their living room’s balcony, leaning over its ledge and looking out to the scenery, deathly quiet and still. Despite the chill in the wind, he was only in his underwear. Not that the ever blonde minded (they were both men and lack of modesty was never a problem in the house) but right then, Chris was staring at the photographer like he was seeing him for the first time and he was thinking _damn, son._  
  
_Is stupid hot even a legit description?_  
  
Which was kind of messed up because up until this, Chris believed he was as straight as a goddamn ruler. Made out of steel, as a matter of fact. His carnal fascination with the other man had always been very strange but he didn’t expect it to snowball and erupt. When the man fell into his bed, his body primed and ready for the CEO's raging desire, taking Sebastian felt like an opportunity he had been waiting patiently to seize. Consequences be damned.

Which also meant  _Chace Crawford_ be damned.

_Christ._

_You need to wake up and get your goddamn balls together, Evans._ _This is a motherfucking lifechanger._

The blonde swallowed a rising gulp and decided to face the music with a gentle, “hey.”  
  
He turned around, startled. “Hey.”  
  
The younger man realized what the CEO was raising his eyebrows at in question - right then, Sebastian was balancing a lit cigarette between his fingers.  
  
His lips tightened to a purse. “Ah...No, I’m not smoking it. Just holding a light helps me, uhm, think better.”  
  
_Understandable_. “Old habit.”  
  
“Yep. Don’t mind?”  
  
Chris gave it a dismissive wave. “Go on.”  
  
“Thanks.”  
  
_*Silence*_  
  
He had the craziest feeling - the tension in the air was practically at nuclear level but all the blonde man could think about was how adorable Sebastian looked when he fidgeted about in his presence. Chewing the insides of his cheeks to bloody ribbons, he doggone was. Nervousness never looked so fucking cute before.  
  
Thankfully, other than the fresh ocean breeze of South California’s breathtaking coast, another smell excited him and Chris took the chance to ease up some of the stress. “Is that Southern Cuts?"  
  
_Bingo!_  

Sebastian’s lips twitched to a surprised smile. “You can tell.”  
  
“Yeah. I mean, I used to live on them. Practically my favorite.”  
  
“Really?” He saw that the photographer's shoulders beginning to relax a little. “What a coincidence, it’s mine too. Well, _was_.”  
  
_Now that’s a fun fact_. “When did you quit?”  
  
“The day I arrived in Los Angeles so...about a year,” Sebastian said, reaching for the shot glass filled with some water that was sitting on the ledge in front of him.  
  
With that, he put the stick out. “You?”  
  
“Man. I can’t remember, honestly. Working with children who are sick on a daily basis eventually puts me off it, I guess.”  
  
_Plus alcohol was a much better companion when dealing with the drama with Jenny but that was in the past too, thanks to you.  
_  
His blue, blue, insanely blue eyes.The very reason why the young blonde man was struggling to keep his thoughts focused. “So...was it really the Acro yoga?”  
  
That did something. Suddenly, the other man exploded with laughter. “Oh, yeah!”  
  
Practically threw himself off the balcony when he did too, Christ. Funniest joke of the century to him, apparently. “Because of yoga.”  
  
“Hey, you’re pretty fanatic about it!” Chris went, shrugging. “How the Universe works. Chakras and balance. Sun worshipping. Flower printed shirts.”  
  
“You mean the one with the daisies?”  
  
_A lovely, see through number. Yes, that one. I never told you how fucking hot you look in it. I'd like to now, since we've crossed_ that _line already._

 _FOCUS, CHRIS. OH MY GOD._  
  
In front of him, Sebastian was almost in tears. “I’ve only _two_ shirts like that in my entire wardrobe, Chris. I’m not a goddamn hobo. Anyway! No, not _just_ yoga.”  
  
When their mirth died down, silence reigned supreme for a short while. Chris was starting to feel the chill biting into his ass the longer he stood in the cold with only his robe on. Didn't exactly bother to look for his underwear in the mess of clothes that littered his bedroom floor, really. 

He watched as the photographer brought his gaze back to the open sea before them with his expression returning to seriousness.

One long, hard sigh later. “Things have gotten a Hell lot better with me since I came to LA. Found no reason to keep depending on it anymore.”  
  
He pulled a tight smirk. “I mean it ain’t so bad now, living here. Getting to know you and uh, everything. Found my peace, something like that. I’m extremely thankful.”  
  
_You come into my life, making me feel like I can’t live without you. Who the Hell do you think you are?_  
  
Maybe he teleported. Next thing he knew, Chris was standing right beside the other man with his heart galloping wildly inside his ears. The kind of excitement that boiled and bubbled over within his chest burned him in its angst, pressuring the blonde to say exactly what he was thinking right then.

“I wanna tell you that I feel the same way, Seb. Things have gotten a lot better with me since you came along too and...Yeah. It’s been a while since I’m this happy.”  
  
Perhaps he shouldn't have been so straightforward with it or should've at least timed things better because just like that, everything stopped. Dramatic as it was, Time, space and continuum - Hell, even the birds in the skies - seemed to have instantly froze over.  
  
Everything except the flutter of Sebastian’s beautiful eyes which told the blonde man he did not see that one coming at all.  
  
_*One painfully long and uneasy motherfucking silence*_  
  
_Shit._  
  
_Was that a confession?_  
  
_Did I confess?_

 _Why?!  
  
Wait. What did I confess?!_  
  
Didn't help that the brown-haired man was staring at him so goddamn hard, Chris figured his eyeballs must be starting to sting. Because his were. So badly.  
  
Panic ensued at full force. _Shit. Shit. Shit._ _  
  
Reboot!_  
  
“Chris.” Sebastian was quicker with bursting his bubble, though. “Can I be very honest with you? About this morning and everything.”  
  
_Honesty is the best policy_. “I’d appreciate that.”  
  
“The truth is, I really like you.”  
  
_Christ. I knew it! I goddam knew it!_ “Oh.”  
  
“I _like_ you,” Sebastian repeated, without missing a beat despite the nervousness in his voice right then. 

“As in I _seriously_ , _genuinely_ like you, like you. As a matter of fact, I like you too damn much that you’ve become special, Christopher. You think you have an idea how much you mean to me but trust me, you don't."  
  
Once again, the way he said his name at such a moment instantly warmed his heart, like rays of sunshine upon the cold of his skin. The kamikaze butterflies in his stomach took their flight, making the blonde smile so wide in his flattery that he must have looked like an idiot right then.  
  
Sebastian‘s was small. “But after what happened, the only thing that became very clear and important to me is that I’ll be damned if I’m to going to lose you from all this.”  
_  
__Aww! That’s so fucking sweet but_ , “what do mean ‘lose me’? I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere, Seb.”  
  
“That’s just it. I want that. I want our relationship to be the way it has always been. Like right now, we’re rock solid, pure gold. I don't know you for a really long time but I know you’d come through for me, for anything. Like, what you did for me with the whole Eric situation…”  
  
Chris' heart pounded harder. He liked the way the younger man was looking at him right then. “Changes things, huh?”  
  
That amount of adoration in his smile and the strength of his gaze had him feeling like he was the only person who mattered in the universe to the photographer.

“It changes _everything_ , Chris. In a very good way. Shows how much you really treasure me in your life, going out on a limb like that.”

  
Oh! He liked it way, _way_ too much. “That’s because I know you’d do the same for me if I need you to, Seb. To me, the amount of days or or length of years knowing someone or whatever don’t matter with you. All I know is we make a great team together.”  
  
The blush on Sebastian’s cheeks quickly spread to his entire face. “You’re always so charming, damn it.”  
  
His hand inched closer to the other man’s on the ledge, wondering if the photographer would mind if he took it in his and held it.  
  
Only to drop the idea immediately the next second. _Too early, cowboy._ “Well. I mean every word, Sebastian - I’m always gonna be here for you.”  
  
Sebastian was beaming. “I’m always here for you, too.”

 _Can I kiss you again?_  
  
“And I’m really glad that we got this out in the open, Chris,” he continued, interrupting the moment of awe the CEO found himself lost in for a second. 

“Sure makes things a Hell lot better that now that I know that you want the same thing as I do.”  
  
Something about the brown-haired man’s tone sounded like he had been holding up an entire bus with his bare hands and could finally put it down, though. Relief was evident in his voice but for some strange reason, Chris felt that there was so much more than...Whatever he thought they were getting at.  
  
And then the unexpected happened.  
  
“So you totally understand why I don’t want to jeopardize our friendship in any way at all - especially when it’s over something as stupid as this.”  
  
_Wait. What?_

The first bag of bricks that dropped on him came out of nowhere and crushed him where he stood. Hard, cold and painful. The impact of it caught him off guard once more that he almost, literally, yelled out in his nasty surprise.  
  
_Huh?_  
  
_Something as stupid as this?_  
  
One by one the kamikaze butterflies began to fall, causing violent shakes to happen in the pit of his gut. Next thing he knew, Chris was pretending that he wasn’t blindsided by what Sebastian was actually talking about.  
  
_All this time. Is he serious?_   “Hold on. Our _friendship_?”  
  
“Yes - that’s what’s most important to me when it comes to you, Chris. Friendship - and nothing’s gonna change that."

A strong, unpleasant pang in his chest had Chris cocking his head in utter disbelief.

 _Ex-fucken-scuse_ _me?!_ "You wanna tell me what this morning was all about, Seb?"

Sebastian's expression suddenly became unreadable to him. "When I came to you, I was so, so swept up by my emotions. I thought about how much you genuinely care for me that I...”

His lips tightened before he quickly picked up where he paused. ”...That in my moment of weakness, I saw you differently. I wanted you differently.”

_Moment of weakness._

_He's gotta be fucking kidding me, right?_

Just when he thought Sebastian's words were done riddling him like he was goddamn target practice, the sharp blade of his machete came swinging down to slice the blonde man’s head clean off his shoulders next.

“It’s not right. I feel horrible that I'd taken advantage of you in such a way, Evans. It...This never should have happened!"  
  
The gentle blue of Sebastian's kind, beautiful eyes went dark next, making him look like he was completely void of feelings. He looked somewhat poker-faced, even. His personality change was goddamn amazing.

 _Damn_ _it_ , _Christopher_.

"I’m sorry but sleeping with you is the the single worst mistake I’ve ever done my entire life.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Oh and the #evanstan love from Chris at ACE Comic Con Chicago is too much *heart explodes*. If you haven't checked it out, do it!

 

Till next time!

 


End file.
